From Beyond the Window
by Scutter
Summary: A bored Prince and a vengeful peasant girl on the run. What could they possibly have in common? Completed.
1. To See the Path

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
This takes place during the Silver Millennium,   
but there are significant differences from the original Sailor Moon   
story. This story is on Earth, with Darien as Prince, but Serena is   
not a Moon Princess, merely a peasant woman. The Sailor Senshi are the   
royal bodyguards for Darien.  
  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.   
I have made up some characters.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 1  
To See the Path  
  
  
One would not have thought, from looking at it, that the window was   
anything other than commonplace. Its lead glass was thick, cross   
hatched by dull metal. Its frame and carvings were smooth and   
intricate, everything that custom expected it to be. It fitted snugly   
into the wall, comfortable in that smooth stone, oblivious to the   
world it occupied.   
  
That was the window.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sunlight falls in glistening droplets, as two children play in its   
glow. They run through childhood's high grasses, laughing, spinning,   
falling at each other's feet. It doesn't matter to them, that one is   
destined to be a Prince - and the other a mere peasant girl. Should   
Destiny frown if Prince of the Earth and Daughter of the Dirt play   
together? Destiny looks the other way, and laughs.  
  
They smile. He will rule the Earth and she will chide the moon. And   
so it will be for ten thousand years . . . two children . . . in the   
sun.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prince Darien stormed up the path to the palace, almost knocking the   
doorman to the floor as he charged through the entrance. Stomping up   
the stairs to his father's study, he threw open the door without   
knocking, and slammed his hand down onto the table.  
  
King Albert, the King of Earth stared up at his enraged son in shock.  
"How many times have I told you to stay out of my person business?!"   
Darien's eyes burned daggers into his father's face, and the older   
man had trouble holding his gaze.  
  
"What . . . seems to be the problem, Darien?" he asked, trying to   
keep his voice calm. He knew very well what the problem was.  
  
Darien's face twisted in disgust. "I have just received a message,   
from Lady Andrea. Saying that she would be most delighted to accept   
my invitation to the royal ball tomorrow night! The funny thing is,"   
he continued, with a dangerous undertone to his voice, "that I didn't   
actually send her an invitation. The invitation did, however, have a   
royal seal on it, which means that *someone* must have sent it for   
me." Darien's hand clenched and flexed spasmodically at his side.   
"Maybe it's time for you to explain why you insist on setting me up   
with every self-indulgent, pompous, overdressed wench within a   
thousand mile radius!"  
  
"Darien," the King began, trying to think of a way to be diplomatic.   
"You're twenty three. You are a Prince. And therefore you have a   
duty, to me, to our name, and to our country to find a wife, and to   
produce an heir. I have given you every chance I could to choose a   
wife of your own accord, to charm some unsuspecting woman, to 'fall   
in love' if you wish to be fanciful about the notion. Time, Darien,   
is running out, and I will not stand by to let you fritter your life   
away waiting for the 'perfect' woman."  
  
"I'm not looking for perfect," Darien shot back, his tone serious. "I   
just want someone I can love."  
  
"Love? Love! Listen to yourself, man. You sound like an adolescent   
woman! You have met, wooed, danced with or otherwise engaged with   
every eligible Princess, Noble woman and aristocrat in our Kingdom.   
For goodness sake, just choose one and get it over with. And Darien,"   
the King called as the seething man headed for the door. "You *will*   
be dancing with Lady Andrea tomorrow night."  
  
The slamming of the door was the only reply.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The gardens beside the palace were empty and peaceful. Wandering   
slowly around the path, Prince Darien's personal guard paused,   
bending to admire the first blooming buds of a rose bush. He was a   
tall man, a few years older than the Prince, with shoulder length   
white hair and blue eyes. As a royal guard, he ranked among the   
nobility when away from the palace, though when he was within its   
walls, his position was just above that of a servant.   
  
The Guard were a group of about twelve families, traditionally given   
the task of protecting the royal family. Among the higher ranking of   
this group were the Sailor Senshi - a role handed from mother to   
daughter across countless generations, and unique in their role as   
females within the Guard. They were trained as warriors from a young   
age, and were dedicated specifically to protecting the heir to the   
throne.  
  
Still gazing at the roses, Malachite frowned suddenly. Looking over   
his shoulder, he saw a wooden door in the Palace wall open suddenly,   
then be thrown shut with vigour. Prince Darien had arrived.  
Malachite's mouth twisted wryly as he watched the stormy Prince stalk   
across the garden, and around to the back of the Palace. After a   
moment, he rose, and followed.  
  
He found the Prince leaning against the castle wall, staring out at   
the field below the gardens. Malachite stood and watched him for a   
long moment, then he spoke. "Problems with your father again?"  
Darien looked up, then laughed derisively. "Hardly. It's the women I   
can't stand." He turned to Malachite, asking seriously, "Do women   
*really* find it that interesting to discuss for three hours which is   
the better shade of blue for a dress? And if so, how on Earth am I   
ever supposed to find a woman to listen to for the rest of my life!?"  
Malachite laughed. "Well, you have to admit, you are a little   
unconventional in your taste for women."  
  
"Well, you know why that is, don't you?" Darien snapped. "When I was   
growing up, I only ever got to play with four girls - the younger   
generation of Sailor Senshi. And they were all too busy have sword   
fights with sticks and pushing each other in the mud to bother about   
what colour frock they had on."   
  
"What about that blond girl. You know, the maid's daughter? You spent   
a good couple of years chasing her around a field. What was her name?   
Sally? Sarah?"  
  
"Serena." Malachite didn't miss the far away look that came into his   
friend's eyes. "She was a lot like the Senshi. She used to throw mud   
balls at me." Darien's mouth became a lopsided grin. "Then I'd push   
her in the creek, and both our mothers would spend the rest of the   
day shouting at us." He sighed deeply. "Anyway, she left 15 years   
ago. I'd hardly call her a dramatic influence on my life." He looked   
almost sad for a moment. "Is it so unreasonable to ask for a woman   
with a sense of adventure? Someone I have *something* in common   
with?"  
  
But Malachite just shrugged. "It's a shame you can't marry one of the   
Senshi. Are you sure royal tradition wouldn't bend enough for you to   
try it?"  
  
Darien shook his head. "No. You know the way it is. There's the   
Royalty and the Guard, and never the twain shall marry. Besides   
which," he added, "I wouldn't really want to marry any of them.   
They're good friends, but I'm not in love with them."  
  
Malachite watched his charge with empathy. He was in serious need of   
a distraction. And Malachite knew just what to do . . .  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien stepped out into the surging crowd, bustling around   
innumerable stalls, and grinned. He had always loved the markets. His   
father disapproved of his mingling with peasants. It was a deliberate   
waste of time, he had said on numerous occasions. But Darien   
disagreed.  
  
He loved the character of the markets. He loved to see the bickering   
between stall owners. He loved the way customers bargained. He loved   
to watch the children causing havoc as they raced between the stalls.   
He loved to listen to the old women, sharing their gossip and news.   
It was life in the midst of living - something Darien felt was very   
lacking around the palace.  
  
But more than mere enjoyment, as a Prince, Darien would grow up to   
rule these people, and he felt he could do that best if he knew who   
they were, and what concerned them. Because in the end, the People   
didn't care if Illeico was having a revolution or if Ardonia was   
fighting Delonica.   
  
They cared about whether the rains fell in spring and their crops   
grew, or if the river flooded too early in autumn. They cared whether   
a horse thief had been caught yet, or if the price of salt was too   
high. This was something his father had never understood. And for   
Darien, it was what made life worth living.  
  
As he stepped around a corner in the street, the side of his mouth   
rose in a half-smile. The smells of baking foods met his nostrils in   
delight, and the bright glitter of multicoloured fabrics filled his   
eyes. He was aware of Malachite tailing him closely, and turned to   
the man in irritation. "I know you have to follow me, but just give   
me a *little* room, please?"   
  
The white haired man smiled, and returned a shallow, comical bow. "As   
you wish, my liege."  
  
Just then, a short, doughy woman shuffled closer to him, shouting   
above the noise, "Spices, Sire. Spices from far away. Buy our best   
spices, Sire."  
  
Darien grinned. "Not today, Sasha. Not today."  
  
The woman immediately resumed shouting at other potential customers,   
while Darien made his way up to the end of the row. He was here for   
something specific today.  
  
"Cakes and loaves, Sire. Better than you buy anywhere else. You come   
see Maria, yes?"  
  
Darien grinned, not minding the distraction. "Hello, Maria. How's   
your husband today?"  
  
The wiry woman cackled. "Aah, he's-a-no good for anyting, he is. He   
helping me make-a-da cakes. I tell him what to do. He mixes da bread,   
da bread is good. He mixes da spices, da spices is good. He mixes da   
sugar, da sugar is-a-no good for anyting."  
  
"No good? Why not?"  
  
"Is always-a-too-a-sweet. Is-a-sugar too much. Is good cakes, zough."  
Darien nodded. "Yes, I know. Not today though, okay Maria?"  
  
Maria laughed for no apparent reason. "Yes, a-right. No more sugar.   
Yes. Have-a-good day, you Prince."  
  
"Thank you. I will."  
  
He resumed his walk to the end of the stalls, but before he got   
there, an old woman sitting on a low stool looked up, a toothy grin   
cracking her face. The racks around her were draped with brown, dried   
plants and small ceramic pots of powdered herbs - medicine, she   
called it - strange blends of herbal teas that she claimed could cure   
anything from a headache to a fever. Some people would have laughed   
at her, but Darien wouldn't doubt her claims too rigorously - she had   
an uncanny knack of being right about things.  
  
"Darien!" she called loudly. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever   
come back."  
  
Eliza was one of the few people who could get away with calling the   
Prince by his first name. Snapping her fingers, a young woman, hardly   
more than a girl, came running up to tend the stall, while Eliza led   
Darien inside a small tent next to it. "Come in. We'll talk."  
  
Once inside the tent, Eliza turned to Darien, and, not for the first   
time in his life, gave him a weighty surprise.  
  
"What's wrong, boy? You seem down."  
  
Darien looked up quickly, but recovered just as fast. She always   
managed to tell what he was thinking. He paused for a moment, then   
answered her.  
  
"My father's pressuring me to get married again. He wants me to   
produce an heir, before I get old and die." He smiled derisively. "I   
hate disobeying him. And I hate disappointing him. It's just not that   
easy to do what he says."   
  
Eliza looked at him for a long moment before she spoke. "You are a   
good Prince, Darien."   
  
He looked up at her sadly. "Tell that to my father."  
  
"'Tis no easy thing to raise a son without a mother. And he has a   
point. You must produce an heir."  
  
Darien looked away and shrugged. "If I don't produce an heir, one of   
the Guard will take the throne. It's as simple as that."  
  
Eliza nodded. "And none of us wants that to happen."  
  
Darien looked at her, surprised.  
  
"The Guard," she said, trying to explain, "are very good at doing   
just that - guarding Royalty. But I've never known any of the Guard   
to have much in the way of diplomatic skills. You, your father, your   
grandfather, have all been brought up by the best. You've been taught   
well. You are Prince of the Earth, Darien. That's not a title you can   
just pick up over night."  
  
The young man frowned. "It's not a title that means much these days.   
The Kingdoms were split fifty years ago, after the Great Southern   
Revolution. They have their own monarchies now."  
  
"And you have been at peace with all of them for the better part of   
three generations. That's no small feat in anyone's language."  
  
Darien sighed, but Eliza smiled again. "Don't worry too much, Darien.   
You're only twenty three."  
  
Darien raised an eyebrow. "Only? That's pretty old in some people's   
opinions."  
  
Eliza patted his shoulder, and got up to go back outside. "I can't   
tell you everything, Darien. But Destiny has a plan for us all. Don't   
forget that." Then, she disappeared into the bright sunlight, leaving   
Darien mildly disappointed. He had hoped for some better advice . . .  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The sun had well risen, though it was still early, when Prince Darien   
stepped quickly down the winding stairs from his quarters, Malachite   
close behind.   
  
"Into the forest, then?" Malachite asked.  
  
Darien stopped on the bottom step, and turned to look at him.   
"Malachite, the reason I don't like going riding with you, is you   
always end up completely lost. So I think today we should ride on the   
road."  
  
"The road is dull. The forest is far more interesting, and we both   
need the distraction."  
  
Darien smiled wryly. "Yes, but *I* have to be back for the ball   
tonight, so I can't spend the night finding my way home again."  
Malachite grinned, and was about to reply when a servant came rushing   
into the room, red in the face and clearly upset. He bowed quickly to   
Darien. "Your Majesty, Sir, Prince Kollis from Ardonia has arrived in   
the Great Hall. He insisted on speaking to you, and claims the matter   
is urgent, Sir."  
  
Darien looked up at Malachite in surprise. Though on peaceful terms   
with the Kingdom of Ardonia, he had never liked the monarchy there   
for personal reasons, and a visit could only mean either business, or   
trouble. He didn't like to consider which.  
  
"Very well," he addressed the servant. "I'll see him immediately."  
  
Darien had little time to think what may be the problem on his way to   
the Great Hall, but when he glanced around the room, a bizarre sight   
met his eyes. Prince Kollis was indeed there, but seated in front of   
him on the floor, cowering on the floor in fact, was a young blond   
woman. Kollis had evidently been in a tirade of abuse, but he stopped   
as he saw Darien, and turned to face him, his expression changing   
immediately from anger to a diplomatic politeness. "Prince Darien,   
it's a pleasure to see you again."  
  
"Prince Kollis." Darien's voice was smooth and cold. "Intimidating   
women is not the way of my land. Please stand back from her."  
Kollis faltered for a second, then angrily stepped backwards. A   
small, plump woman who had been cowering against the wall rushed   
forward to the sobbing woman on the floor, cradling her in her arms.  
Darien watched them for a moment, then turned back to Kollis.  
"Prince Kollis. Forgive me for being blunt, but this is a most   
unexpected visit. And these are most unusual circumstances. What can   
I do to assist you?" The politeness of his words did nothing to cover   
the angry tone of his voice.  
  
Prince Kollis looked at him coolly. "I have come seeking the   
extradition of this woman back to my kingdom. In recent times, I   
found her favourable, and was prepared to make her my wife. She fled   
my land, however, ungrateful and without my permission."  
  
Darien listened to the man coolly. Yeah right. Probably more like   
you tried to rape her. Darien looked at the sobbing girl, still   
seated on the floor. "Is this true?"  
  
Realising she was being addressed, the woman drew away from her   
nurse's embrace and looked up in dread. But the look the Prince gave   
her was not what she had been expecting. There was none of the   
condemnation or distaste she was used to. Instead he looked very   
calm, gentle and . . . kindly?   
  
As she looked at him, something undefinable seemed to flicker across   
his eyes. Was it . . . recognition? Yet it was gone quickly, replaced   
again by that same gentleness. Stealing herself, the woman gulped   
slightly, and deftly threw herself into the arms of fate.  
  
"Sir," she began, choking on her own voice. "I . . . did not flee. I   
grew up in this country and I . . . I wished to return to it in order   
to see my home again. That was the reason for my leaving Ardonia."  
The lie was palpable, and the woman held her breath as she waited for   
the Prince to respond. She could hardly hope for him to take pity on   
her - she was nothing to him, a mere peasant girl - and yet, her   
spirit, which she had once thought to be indomitable, but was now so   
close to breaking, begged her to try.  
  
He gazed at her shrewdly, again with an unreadable expression playing   
across his face. Slowly, he turned back to the waiting Kollis. "It   
seems she has a valid reason for being here. I see no reason to   
become upset about it."  
  
The woman's breath exploded in relief, and she quickly dove back into   
her nurse's arms to hide it.  
  
Kollis's eyes glowed redly. "She ran away without my permission!" he   
almost yelled. Darien's guards at the back of the room involuntarily   
flinched. An angry Prince Kollis was not something any of them liked   
to see. But the woman on the floor made no reaction at all.  
  
Darien levelled Kollis a steady gaze. "I was not aware that civilians   
required your permission to leave the country. Only criminals require   
that consent, and," he glanced down at the girl, "as she is clearly   
not a criminal, I see no reason for her to be made to return. I thank   
you," he continued, as Kollis tried to interrupt, "for your concern   
in this matter, but I believe it can be dealt with by my own court   
from here."  
  
Kollis didn't bother hiding his anger, openly glaring at Darien.   
"Very well," he spat, and with no further formalities, turned on his   
heel and stalked out of the room, leaving Darien staring angrily   
after him.  
  
After he was gone, Darien let out a tight sigh. That man is so   
infuriating . . . Then he saw that the woman was still seated on the   
floor, sobbing, though this time, he was sure is was with relief.   
Gently, he knelt on one knee in front of her. Strangely, he felt that   
she should be in *his* arms, not the older woman's. Frowning   
internally, he dismissed the thought.  
  
"Miss?" he began, gaining her attention. "Are you all right?"  
She looked up, seemingly surprised that he was still there. Then her   
tight features relaxed, and she bowed her head, breathing quickly.   
"Thank you. Thank you so, so much. I'm so grateful . . ."  
  
"Miss." He touched her shoulder briefly, then quickly withdrew his   
hand. A faint smile twitched at his lips. "May I ask your name?"  
  
She looked up, and managed a weak smile. "Serena. Serena Sunsdale."  
  
  



	2. Looking Back Along the Path

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 2   
Looking Back Along the Path  
  
Darien's jaw dropped.  
  
If she had told him she was an angel straight from heaven, he could   
have been no more surprised.  
  
"Serena . . . ?" he whispered silently, searching her face   
desperately. Could it be . . .?  
  
Indeed, he realised, this *was* the girl he had played with all those   
years ago. And yet, her eyes were so different from those he   
remembered. Where was the endless fire and laughter that had graced   
his days as a child?  
  
"Sir, please," Serena stuttered, avoiding his eyes. "Why do you stare   
at me?"  
  
He remained silent, a shocked look on his face. His golden haired   
angel, now dressed in rags and cowering on the floor in front of him?   
How could this have happened?  
  
Her eyes on the polished, wooden floorboards, the blond woman resumed   
her heartfelt sobbing, sure she had offended the Prince somehow, and   
was about to be punished. She felt her nurse wrap her arms around her   
again. "Sir, please," the old woman spoke pleadingly. "The lady is   
tired, I think. I . . .  
  
The Prince rose instantly, cutting her off and surprising both women.   
"Malachite!" The white haired man was instantly at his side. "See   
that these women are attended to and given everything they need.   
Clean clothes, a place to wash, a good meal. Anything."  
Malachite bowed. "Yes, Sir."   
  
Darien glanced back at Serena, who was staring at him in open-mouthed   
wonder. His eyes wandered from her coloured cheeks and tear-flushed   
eyes down to the dirt smudges on her hands, and the rags which   
clothed her. He could not help but cringe at the suffering this angel   
must have endured, and what a fragile soul must have been left in its   
wake. But when he looked back to her eyes, his illusions were   
shattered. Written clearly across her haggard features were pride,   
dignity and defiance, almost daring him to pity her. He could not.  
  
Darien's eyes held hers for a moment, fully understanding the   
contempt she held for him, for the status that held him above   
her, until his eyes dropped, defeated, to the floor.  
Then the Prince of Earth strode hastily out of the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena sat on the window seat in the room she had been led to. After   
a good wash and a change of clothes (though the clothes were far more   
elegant than she was used to), she was feeling a little more relaxed,   
but was still as mystified as ever as to why the Prince had given her   
any attention in the first place. She was nothing more than a peasant   
girl to him . . . wasn't she?  
  
In the washroom adjacent to the room she was in now, her nurse,   
Josephine, was taking her turn at bathing in a tub of hot water, a   
luxury the old woman seemed to find both pleasant, and unnerving. She   
had been Serena's nurse for the past twelve years, and was used to   
serving the girl, not being served herself, and she had said as much.   
But when she had tried to send their servant away, she had been   
quickly shushed.   
  
"Ma'am," the servant explained, "While you are a guest in the   
Prince's house, you will be attended to as he sees fit. And I have   
been ordered to attend to you, and so I shall." Josephine had been at   
olds to argue with the young woman, helpless but to accept the   
unexpected attention.  
  
Serena sighed as she gazed out the window. It looked down onto the   
Palace gates, and the wide lawn surrounding the path to the entrance.   
Craning her neck, she could see gardeners tending the distant flower   
beds, and two horses being led towards the stables. Even the servants   
were well dressed, it seemed, and Serena couldn't help but wonder   
what it would have been like to live behind these gates.  
  
"Do you like the view?" A deep voice asked from the doorway.   
Serena looked up, surprised. But when she saw who had spoken, her   
eyes grew wide, and she instantly dropped to one knee on the floor.   
"Sire, forgive me, I didn't see you there."  
  
Darien stared at her in confusion for a moment. Though people often   
bowed, it was rare for anyone to actually kneel to him. "Serena,   
please, stand up." There was a trace of amusement in his voice, but   
Serena obeyed instantly, keeping her gaze on the floor. A frown   
flashed across Darien's features at her apprehensive movements. "I   
just came to make sure you had everything you needed."  
  
Serena looked up at that, unable to hide the surprise and warmth in   
her eyes. "Yes, thank you, Sir. You've been most generous."  
  
Darien smiled back at her, but as he did, her gaze seemed to flicker,   
and darken, and she once again dropped her eyes to the floor.  
"Serena," Darien began, in a gentler tone. "I actually came here to   
ask you something else. How much do you remember about your   
childhood?"  
  
She snapped her head up, eyes darting nervously about the room. "Very   
little, Sire," she answered carefully.  
  
It was not the answer he had expected. He sighed softly. "I know you   
lied to me about your reason for returning to Terranis, but there was   
an element of truth in it. You did grow up here."  
  
Serena's eyes grew wide. "Sire, how did you know that?"  
  
"Do you remember playing in the palace gardens? You lived here, in   
the palace for several years, Serena. You used to play with the   
children of the palace. Do you remember that?"  
  
She shook her head, avoiding his eyes. "I do not remember any such   
time, Sire." She swallowed hard.  
  
You're lying. Darien's eyes darkened slightly. He stayed very   
still, gazing at her steadily. "You lied to me once before, and I   
forgave you for it because I understood the reason behind it. Why do   
you lie now?" His voice was gentle, but his words sent cold fear down   
Serena's spine.   
  
How does he know I'm lying? Then she mentally cursed herself. He's   
the Prince of the Earth, you fool. Of course he knows you're lying.   
Though outwardly seeming like any other prince, it was strongly   
rumoured that the Prince of the Earth did, in fact, hold some form of   
ethereal power. Colour flooded her cheeks, but she remained silent,   
her face turned away from him. Darien stepped forward, reaching out   
to turn her face to look at him. He could not understand her   
discomfort - he saw only the girl who had been his childhood friend -   
and reached out to comfort her.  
  
"Stay away from me!" It was shouted not in anger, but in fear - he   
could plainly hear the panic in her voice. He stepped back in   
surprise. So you *do* still have that fire. But why do you fear me?  
But then he realised the impropriety of the situation - he was a   
Prince, and she, a mere peasant woman; not an association either of   
them could support. Though *he* remembered their childhood fondly,   
she obviously did not share his feelings. She had come here for   
political asylum, not for friendship.  
  
"I'm sorry, Serena," he muttered to the floor. "I'll leave you   
alone." She missed his apologetic look as she also stared at the   
floor, hearing only the bitterness in his voice, and listened in   
silence as his footsteps retreated from the room.  
  
Serena, you stupid, stupid girl. She sank onto the seat again,   
burying her head in her hands. But no tears flowed this time. "What   
have I done?" she whispered to herself. Insulted a Prince in his own   
home, you fool. Still holding her head in her hands, she shook it   
sullenly. "Not again," she prayed quietly. "Please, not again."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien paced restlessly across the room, waiting impatiently for   
Malachite to return. Passing the window, he paused, and looked out   
onto the wide lawn below. A jacaranda tree grew in one corner of the   
lawn, and a wing of the castle extended outwards at either end of the   
building, encasing the lawn on three sides, while the fourth side   
sloped gentle down to a large field. The field where he and Serena   
had played . . .   
  
He sighed softly, thinking back to their meeting earlier that   
morning. He could not understand her cold rejection of him. They had   
know each other since childhood, they had played together as brother   
and sister. Could she really have forgotten that?  
  
Fool an inner voice chided him. She was four years old; it was   
fifteen years ago. Why on Earth should it mean anything now?   
Darien sighed. It *was* a long time ago, he conceded to himself.   
Perhaps she *didn't* remember. Or perhaps if you weren't a Prince,   
she would be willing to at least talk to you. That was more likely.   
The social barriers between nobility and peasantry were well defined   
at all levels - any personal association between himself and Serena   
could easily be misinterpreted as a 'scandal', and while he could   
hide behind the walls of snobbery, Serena would be shamed and   
dishonoured for it.  
  
Darien was pulled out of his reverie then by a soft knock at the   
door, and Malachite stepped quietly into the room.   
  
Darien remained staring out the window, and Malachite hesitated   
before speaking. To his well trained eyes, the Prince appeared   
somewhat agitated, though Malachite knew better than to ask what the   
problem was.   
  
Clearing his throat, he began, "The ladies have been attended to,   
Sir. A meal was prepared for them and they are currently dining in   
the servant's quarters."   
  
Darien looked around at this, and raised an eyebrow. "The servant's   
quarters? Why there? Why not in the parlour?"   
  
"They insisted, Sir," Malachite said to the floor. "Josephine   
stubbornly refused to eat in the parlour. She claimed it would be   
inappropriate for peasantry."  
  
This earned a chuckle from the Prince. "Being bullied by an old   
woman, were you, Malachite?" The guard flushed, but Darien shook his   
head. "I wouldn't let it worry you. I get the feeling almost   
nothing could get past those two." Then he added under his breath,   
"Especially Serena."  
  
Malachite looked at his charge sideways. "Oh? Why Serena in   
particular?"  
  
Darien looked strangely wistful. "Just because of what she did today.   
It is sheer madness to try and defy someone as ruthless and brutal as   
Kollis, yet she went to extraordinary lengths to escape him, and   
what's more, she succeeded. She has the boldness of a knight, yet the   
humility of a sparrow." He paused, a deep frown darkening his features.   
"What I want to know, is why she would attempt such a thing."   
  
Malachite looked at the Prince with interest, a sly smile creeping   
over his lips. "What you're saying, Sir, is that this woman intrigues   
you."  
  
Darien looked up in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Malachite grinned. "You've never spoken about any woman with the   
admiration you just showed for her. Am I to understand that, for the   
first time in you life, you are actually interested in a woman?"   
Darien shot him a black look. "That is a *very* inappropriate   
comment, Malachite. Need I remind you that I am a Prince, and she is   
a peasant girl. There is *no* possibility of an association between   
the two."  
  
Malachite flinched at the anger in his voice, "True," he conceded.   
"But she *is* holding your fascination in a way that no other woman   
has," he continued, defiantly returning Darien's hard gaze.   
The dark haired man was the first to look away. "Yes," he muttered to   
the window. "She does fascinate me."  
  
Behind his back, Malachite smiled. Taking a seat on a long lounge, he   
propped one leg up comfortably, then idly rubbed the golden emblem on   
his uniform. The sword-and-crescent-moon motif was the royal crest of   
Terranis, the origin of the design having been lost somewhere in   
folk-lore. Suddenly, a frown creased his forehead. "Darien?"  
The Prince looked around. "What is it?"  
  
"I was just thinking of Kollis," Malachite began, his tone much more   
serious than before. "I agree with you that he's fairly ruthless and   
rash, which leads me to wonder, is he likely to do anything . . .   
reckless after you rejected his requests today?"  
  
Darien raised one eyebrow. "You mean like declare war on us," he asked,   
amusement in his voice. Malachite shrugged.   
  
But Darien shook his head. "The issue of one peasant girl isn't likely   
to be much more than trivial to him. I'm sure he's annoyed at the   
moment, but he'll forget about it in a few days. Besides which," he   
continued, "his father and mine have been on good terms for decades.   
I'm sure the King of Ardonia isn't going to let his son's *libido*   
get in the way of international relations." Malachite couldn't help   
but grin at that.   
  
Suddenly they were interrupted my a knock at the door. A servant   
entered, bowing deeply to Darien.   
  
"Your Majesty, sir, your father has requested a meeting with you   
regarding the ball tonight. He claims the matter is urgent, and is   
anticipating your imminent arrival."   
  
Darien scowled, letting out a low hiss.   
  
"I have also been asked to tell you that the ladies you saw to this   
morning are preparing to leave the Palace. They asked me to convey   
their gratitude to you for your hospitality and your extreme   
compassion for their plight. If you wish, I will . . ."   
  
"I'll see to them before they leave," Malachite interrupted, rising   
from his seat. "Darien, is there anything you want me to. . ."  
  
"Yes," Darien replied. "Please convey my apologies to Serena for being   
unable to see her off. If I keep my father waiting, he's likely to have   
me beheaded." He gave his guard a satirical grin, then strode quickly   
out of the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena breathed a sigh of relief as she came down the stairs to the   
Palace door. In the past hour, she had been treated almost like   
royalty, and she had found the experience quite unnerving. Dressed   
still in fine clothes, which she had been shocked that she was   
allowed to keep, she and Josephine were preparing to ride home.   
They had arrived at the palace on horseback after a hard ride from   
their home - Kollis, it seemed, had been better at tracing them than   
first thought - and graciously, their horses had been attended to,   
cooled from their run, watered and groomed.  
  
It was more than a dream come true - she was finally back in the land   
of her birth, released from the overseeing hand of Kollis, and free   
to return to her own life at last. Still, Serena was confused. Prince   
Darien's generosity and kindness had stunned her - she had never   
imagined that anyone from the nobility could have been so   
compassionate. And his eyes were just so . . . Serena stopped   
herself quickly, and mentally slapped herself for the thought. Despite   
his kindness, Serena still found herself feeling an undeniable dislike   
for the Prince. He had proven himself to be arrogant, proud and above   
all, powerful. He was royalty, which naturally put him on a level far   
above where *she* stood.   
  
They heard footsteps on the stair suddenly, and Serena's eyes grew   
wide as two men, dressed in identical uniforms appeared in the   
hallway. One of them she recognised. He had been with the Prince this   
morning, and had arranged for her and Josephine to be attended to.   
The other, a blond man, she had not seen before. She waited   
apprehensively for them to speak.   
  
"Ladies," Malachite addressed them, bowing slightly. "I've come on   
the Prince's request to see that you get away safely. The Prince   
himself has been called away to a diplomatic meeting. He regrets that   
he is unable to see you off."  
  
A likely story Serena thought bitterly. He probably can't stand   
the sight of me.   
  
"I hope you have a good journey home," the guard continued. "You will   
be escorted as far as the town by Jadeite," he gestured to the blond   
haired man, "from where you will be free to return home alone."   
"That won't be necessary, Sir," Serena interrupted him. "We have no   
need of an escort."  
  
Malachite regarded the young woman shrewdly, then he smiled warmly   
and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Serena, but the Prince would never   
forgive me if I didn't see that you were looked after."  
  
For some reason, Serena blushed at this, unsure what to make of the   
strange warmth that suddenly rushed through her.   
  
Riding slowly down the drive, Serena couldn't help but look back up   
at the palace, its proud turrets gleaming in the sun like magnificent   
statues. From the top of one of the turrets a flag flew, boldly   
displaying the royal crest in gold against a green background. It   
looked familiar somehow, like some half-remembered dream. . .  
  
Shaking off the strange feeling, Serena shifted on her horse, turning   
back to the road, and as she passed the palace gates, she knew she   
was returning to her own life, at last.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dressed in finery, Darien stood beside his father just beyond the   
doors to the ballroom. King Albert wore a great, flowing robe, gold   
embroidery adorning the edges while his crown gleamed in the bright   
lights of the hallway. Darien wore something slightly less elaborate,   
black pants and boots, and a midnight blue shirt, with an embroided   
vest over the top, emblazoned with the royal crest.   
  
Albert looked his son over with a surreptitious glance. Darien stood   
tall and proud, his features set in a stern mask while a subtle shift   
of his weight betrayed the young man's discomfort at his current   
situation. It was no surprise that half the ladies in the kingdom   
were clamouring for his attention. Darien had grown into manhood with   
an unmistakable charm, his stormy eyes and roguish hair somehow   
softening the harsh disdain he held for everything around him.   
Albert felt a smile tug at his lips, but he refrained from the   
impulse. He was proud of his son; he admired the boy's calculated   
intelligence and the gentle compassion that hid beneath it. He would   
grow to be a worthy king some day. If only he could have found the   
words to tell him so. . .  
  
Darien glanced sideways at his father, only his eyes betraying the   
cold dislike he held for the older man. He looks so damn proper he   
thought with disgust. You'd never guess he had a heart somewhere in   
that royal chest of his. . . He sighed almost inaudibly.  
  
The ball had begun about an hour ago, guests arriving throughout the   
hour, to be entertained in padded luxury, while Darien had argued   
behind closed doors with his angry father. Threats were exchanged and   
tempers flared, though both men already knew the outcome of tonight's   
entertainment. Darien would dance with Lady Andrea tonight, and then   
after tomorrow, he would never think of her again.  
  
Making sure to hide his displeasure behind a diplomatically pleased   
expression, Darien signalled the doorman, and at the entrance to the   
great ballroom, a royal fanfare began.  
  
Within the ballroom, two hundred noblemen and women hushed their   
conversations, turning with proud expectation to the head of the   
room. The wide wooden doors were swung open, and a murmur of approval   
swept across the room as the reigning monarch of their land, and the   
Crown Prince by his side, strode majestically into the room. King   
Albert stepped unhurriedly down the marble stairs, acutely conscious   
that the attention of the room was not, as it should have been, on   
him.   
  
Every female eye in the room was riveted on the Prince. King Albert   
watched in dismay as his son gained 100% of the interest in the room,   
as the women stared at him starry eyed, and the men watched their   
female companions with a jealous eye.   
  
Darien, he knew, however, couldn't have cared less. He could almost   
see the Prince cringe as his eyes wandered over the gawking crowd,   
and the young man seemed to quicken his step, reaching the bottom of   
the stairs before his father.  
  
Lady Andrea was led to him immediately, under escort of the royal   
guard. As Nephrite introduced her, he shot an apologetic glance at   
Darien. Darien answered it with the slightest of nods, before turning   
his attention to the somewhat overexcited noblewoman.  
  
Lady Andrea curtsied the moment she had the Prince's attention.  
"Lady Andrea," he greeted her, forcing a smile. "You look absolutely   
lovely this evening. I'm so glad you were able to join us."  
  
Lady Andrea smiled tightly, and curtsied again. "Why, thank you, Your   
Majesty. It is truly a pleasure to accompany you."  
  
Darien smiled quickly to hide his annoyance. He offered her his arm.   
"Would you care to dance, M'lady?"  
  
Lady Andrea smiled back at him, and curtsied again. "Why, I'd be   
delighted, Sir."  
  
Darien managed to smile back, grinding his teeth to keep from growling.   
If she curtsies one more time I'm going to throw her off the balcony   
he thought blackly, as he wrapped one arm around the woman, and the   
uneasy couple began to dance.  
  
Standing at the head of the room, King Albert listened with half an   
ear to the conversation around him, while keeping an eye on his son   
at the same time. Several of the Lords were discussing their   
properties, and the relative benefits and problems of tenantship.   
Most of the time they merely resorted to harsh jokes regarding the   
state of the peasantry. Albert followed their remarks with patient   
interest but most of his attention was on the discomforted prince.   
He was being a perfect gentleman, maintaining a polite front for the   
lady in his arms, and yet Albert could see the quiet anger in his   
face, which he was sure no one else noticed. Darien was a master at   
controlling his emotions, and he would not get angry tonight.   
Tomorrow, however, would see the light of day, exposing his son's   
fury in its full potential.   
  
Darien led Andrea to the punch table, offering her a drink, then   
pouring it for her when she seemed incapable to do so herself. He had   
given up dancing rather quickly, after only a few dances. The woman   
seemed to need to hang off him for her every move, and Darien found   
the experience exhausting.  
  
As Andrea continued talking, he nodded and smiled at her as much as   
necessary, but spent most of his time looking furtively out the   
window. It wasn't so much of a conversation as a trick to keep him   
from having to say much - he would ask her questions which required   
long answers, then ignore her until she had finished gloating in her   
own wealth.   
  
All the ladies he had been set up with were the same - overly anxious   
to please, so that if *they* could be the one to secure favour with   
the Prince, they would eventually be elevated to Princess, and   
finally to Queen. Some, he knew, didn't want to be there in the first   
place, but no doubt there would be an overseeing father with a tight   
hand over his daughter, trying to ensure her marriage for his own   
gain. Darien had turned *those* girls down the easiest, knowing he   
was certainly breaking no hearts in the process.  
  
But he was dragged back to the present suddenly, as he realised that   
Andrea required an answer. "Don't you think so, your Majesty? I know it   
was a marvellous stable, I saw it myself," she said with vigour. "But   
twelve horses? And all just for the Marquis. What would he do with them   
all? Can you imagine! Twelve!"  
  
Darien turned to her quite calmly, and replied, "Yes, I can see what   
you mean. I have twenty here at the Palace." He bit his tongue to   
keep from laughing, amused to see how she would respond.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, I can see why you would need so many. For your   
guards, are they?"  
  
Darien shook his head. "No, they're mine," he said, quite offhandedly.  
  
Lady Andrea's jaw dropped, and Darien gazed at her impassively while   
she recovered from her shock. "Oh, yes!" she uttered finally,   
bursting into fake laughter. "Of course, Your Majesty. Twenty." She   
trailed off, glancing anxiously about the room.   
Twit Darien thought.  
  
"I just love the Palace, Your Majesty." She was off again. "It has   
such character. I really am amazed at how beautiful the old buildings   
are. I'm amazed anyone should have designed them so perfectly."  
  
Well, she'll be disappointed when she doesn't get any further royal   
invitations. Darien thought, mildly amused.  
  
Brushing off unwelcome suitors was the easiest thing in the world for   
Darien. No one in the aristocracy would dare come to the palace   
without an invitation, and so simply *not* giving an invitation would   
be a sure fire way of getting rid of her. Still, he could almost feel   
sorry for the disillusioned woman . . . almost.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Shivering in the cold night air, a blond haired woman sat on the edge   
of her bed, her chin resting on the cold windowsill, tears running   
softly down her face.   
  
"You would choose tonight to keep me awake, wouldn't you?" Serena chided   
the full moon, shimmering above the tree tops. It's silvery beams   
scattered delicately over the window, turning the girl's hair more   
white than gold. Through her tears, she smiled up at its peaceful   
glow. Pulling her thin nightgown more tightly around her, she sighed.   
"Oh, why can't I be more like you?" she whispered. "So far away from   
here, so free . . ." Her eyes fell to the black garden below the   
moon. "I hate him." Her voice carried no sound, yet the thought   
echoed back to taunt her. How can I hate someone who was so kind to   
me? She closed her eyes, easily picturing the kindness in Prince   
Darien's eyes. It's not fair. It should be so easy . . . to   
hate . . .   
  
Her eyes drifted back to the sky. Just to the left of the moon, a   
star shone brightly, in the middle of an empty patch of sky. *Her*   
star. Her wishing star. She closed her eyes. I wish . . .   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien stood alone on the wide balcony, gulping large breaths of air   
down his throat. He had finally managed to lose Lady Andrea for a   
moment, another young man having asked her to dance, to which the   
Prince had acquiesced (quite willingly, though *she* didn't have to   
know that.) I'm going to have to thank Jadeite for that later he   
thought. But for now, he merely sighed, letting the mysterious scents   
of the night seep through his weary veins.   
  
And slowly, his thoughts returned to Serena. He had learned that   
afternoon, that it had been *her* who had first come bursting into   
the palace, demanding to see the Prince until Kollis had arrived   
moments later, quite out of breath, but still well enough to demand   
an audience with his Majesty. The Ardonian Prince had apparently been   
pursuing the women, and only the fact that they had had a large head   
start on him had saved them from his wrath.   
  
Though in a foreign country, Kollis still ranked as a Crown Prince,   
and could therefore have ordered Serena back to his land while she   
stood on common ground. It was only once she was within the palace   
gates that she had come under the protection of Terranisian decree.  
Darien found he could easily imagine the small girl shouting at the   
palace servants, demanding his attention, and for some reason, he   
found the idea not inappropriate.  
  
But the smile that tugged at his lips faded soon enough. He recalled   
with regret how quickly the two women had left the palace, almost   
fleeing from it, it seemed. He could not deny that this girl had   
captured his imagination; why had she been running from Kollis, and   
what possible motive had given her the strength to defy him to such   
lengths? He could almost curse himself for all the things he *could*   
have said to her, wanting desperately for her to remember their   
childhood together as he did - bold freedom grasped from their   
mother's hands in the face of all that the world threw at them.  
But it was not to be. It was not likely that she would ever come back   
to the palace.   
  
Why was he so concerned about her? he demanded of himself. It made   
no sense. It was as if she had infected him, and he would not be   
cured of her her until his curiosity was satisfied.  
  
As the noise of the ballroom drifted through the open doors to his   
ears again, Darien shook his head. The black gardens below him   
beckoned enticingly. It would be so easy to get lost down there in   
the darkness, where no one would find him for hours . . .   
  
His eyes drifted back to the sky. Could Serena be looking up at those   
same stars now, her bright eyes sparkling and clear?   
  
Just to the left of the moon, a star shone brightly, in the middle of   
an empty patch of sky. *His* star. His wishing star. He closed his   
eyes. I wish . . .   
  



	3. Being Lost, Despite the Path

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 3  
Being Lost, Despite the Path  
  
  
A cool, heady scent blew in Darien's open window as he lay in bed   
that night. His evening clothes were scattered about the room, carelessly   
discarded after the ball had ended, and Darien had collapsed into bed,   
exhausted from keeping his emotions in check all evening. But now, in the   
cold comfort of the darkness, he couldn't sleep. Whenever he closed his   
eyes, a soft, haunting melody would echo through his thoughts, the voices   
of two children ringing in his ears until they drove him mad.  
  
". . . I promise, and if I ever die,  
I'll return that promise to the star in the sky,  
That we'll be friends forever more  
After all, that's what friends are for. . ."  
  
"Will it really be forever?" a four year old Serena had asked her   
companion.  
  
"Of course, silly," the young Darien had replied. "Now look up   
there." The girl had turned her face unquestioningly to the sky, visible   
in glimpses through the leaves of the bush both children were hiding   
under.  
  
"See that star, just to the left of the moon, in the empty patch of   
sky. . . that's our wishing star. If you ever feel sad or lonely, just   
wish on that star, and everything will be okay again," the boy told her   
authoritatively, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.   
  
Serena had buried her face in his chest. "I don't want to go to   
Ardonia. I like it here. You're my friend, Darien."  
  
"I'll still be your friend. Just a long way away. I'll still be   
your friend. . ."  
  
Darien's eyes snapped open in the darkness, and he restlessly threw   
the bed covers back, striding to the window in agitation.   
  
He and Serena had sat under that bush, at the end of the palace   
gardens, for the rest of the night, singing the rhyme over and over.   
Morning had come all too quickly, and Serena had been dragged away,   
boarding a ship for Ardonia that very afternoon.  
  
Darien had asked his father later, why his best friend had had to   
leave. He was the King, after all. Couldn't he have stopped them? His   
cold reply had been, "It's for the best, Darien. You had no business with   
that peasant brat in the first place." Darien had never looked at his   
father quite the same again.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sweating freely in the hot sun, Serena leant on the handle of her   
hoe, and wiped the perspiration from her eyes. The sun was high, and she   
was not yet half way across the field, clearing row after row of wheat of   
its weeds. The harvest was coming in a few short weeks, and the crop was   
almost fully grown, promising a good return for the year's labour.  
  
She and Josephine had been fortunate in securing a position with a   
farming family - the Mayers were simple people, but the recent loss of   
one of their servants had left them shorthanded for the harvest - the   
single most important event of the farming community.  
  
Though it was hard work, Serena couldn't have been happier with her   
job. The warm sun and waves of wheat made for beautiful scenery, and   
Serena was convinced that if she could only see this view for the rest of   
her life, she would die happy.  
  
It reminded her of happier times in her life, when she had been a   
mere child. Despite what she had told the Prince, she did remember the   
details of her early life - playing in a field with a group of children,   
all several years older than her but willing to include her none the less.   
Strange - she could never remember the exact faces of those children . . .   
the only thing she could remember clearly was a dark haired young boy.   
She wanted to know who he was. Her mother had told her often enough that   
she had worked at the palace in her younger days, so Prince Darien's   
story of her playing with the palace children could well have been true.   
Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind, of Darien's dark hair,   
roguishly hanging in his eyes. It had seemed so familiar. . .  
  
Serena had to laugh out loud at the idea. A Prince playing with a   
peasant girl! The idea seemed preposterous. No, he had to have been one   
of the servant's children she told herself dismissively.  
  
"Something amuses you, child?"  
  
Serena looked up in surprise. "Oh, no Josephine. I was just   
thinking."  
  
The old woman frowned. "Hmm. Well, here's some water for you. I   
can't very well have you collapsing from the heat, can I?"  
  
Serena smiled warmly at the woman, accepting the jug and drinking   
deeply, the cool liquid spilling down her chin. Finishing, she wiped the   
spillage away, grinning coyly.  
  
The old woman merely regarded her with narrow eyes and a sharp nod,   
and took the water jug away again. Serena's smile faded as she watched   
her graceless form shuffle slowly down the field, her young eyes unable   
to comprehend the old woman's solemnity. After a moment's hesitation, she   
picked up her hoe, and bent over to work again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Usually the hordes of children crowding the path would have made   
Darien smile, as he made his way through the bustling market place, but   
today they only elicited a low growl. Despite his hurry to get to the   
markets today, he was not in the mood for the jovial by-play of the   
stall owners. He was here for a very different reason.   
  
Finally pushing through the end of the stalls, he stood over the   
hunched old woman until she noticed him, a sight which startled her none   
too gently.  
  
"Darien!" Eliza exclaimed. "Gosh, you scared the life out of me,   
boy. Don't go sneaking up on people like that."  
  
"I need to speak to you, Eliza," the Prince stated, without so much   
as a hello. Eliza stared at him, surprised to see the Prince's deep eyes   
flared in distress. She had known the young man for so long he was almost   
like a son to her, and it disturbed her to see the usually calm and   
confident monarch so upset. Quickly, she ushered him inside her tent,   
leaving the young girl to tend her stall.  
  
"Sit down, Darien," she instructed, instantly producing a hot mug   
of tea. "You look positively shaken. What on Earth is the matter?"  
  
Darien eyed her gravely, letting the air thicken heavily before he   
spoke. "Do you remember a young girl named Serena?" It was not a question   
- he already knew the answer.  
  
Eliza stared at him open mouthed for a second, then dropped her   
eyes to her lap. "Oh dear," she sighed under her breath.  
  
"You were friends with her mother," the Prince continued, his voice   
hard. "You knew she was back in Terranis. Didn't you."  
  
Eliza pursed her lips and looked away. "Yes, I remember her," she   
muttered, almost to herself. "I doubt I could ever forget her. She was   
the brightest child that e'er graced these shores. Honestly, Darien, I   
didn't know she was back. I knew she was planning to return," she hurried   
on, "but I didn't know she had arrived." Eliza paused, looking at the   
Prince critically. "I take it you've spoken to her then?"  
  
Darien nodded slowly. "She came to the Palace."   
  
Eliza's eyes widened - What on Earth was she doing *there*? - but   
she resolutely kept her mouth shut. Now was not the time for such   
questions.   
  
"Our meeting wasn't what you'd call... friendly." Darien stopped,   
then hurried on, "She refuses to acknowledge me, she denies our past, and   
she seems terrified every time I look at her. I want to know why." His   
voice had softened, now closer to pleading than anger.  
  
Eliza considered his request for a long moment, wondering if it   
would be prudent to simply end the conversation where it was. Until she   
found herself asking, "How much do you know already?"  
  
Shaking her head at her own weak will, she listened carefully as   
Darien began to reply, "I know she was forced to leave the palace when I   
was eight years old. And I know that before then, she was the best friend   
I had. I want to know what happened after she left the Palace. I want to   
know what changed her so dramatically."  
  
Eliza let out a long sigh, covering her lips with a long fingertip.   
"You were very young. So I'll start at the beginning, shall I? It begins   
with Serena's mother, really, a woman named Marissya. She was born a   
peasant, of no noticeable lineage, but through various means, she rose to   
become a servant at the palace. I believe she began her service there   
soon after you were born.   
  
"After several years, the Queen took notice of her gentle ways, and   
appointed her the Queen's Personal Attendant. Marissya had been married   
briefly, and had produced a daughter of honourable means, and though the   
girl was four years younger than you, Queen Isabelle saw fit to let you   
play together, which is how you came to know Serena.   
  
"I believe Marissya served your mother for a total of five years.   
During the last year of her service, however, the Queen became very ill,   
with a constant fever. No one really knows what happened after the Queen   
died. I know your father was devastated. She had fought the fever so hard   
and for so long . . . and in the end she just . . . gave up. Something in   
him seemed to break.  
  
"The next thing to happen was that he sent Marissya away from the   
palace. No one knew why. I personally believe it was because she reminded   
him of your mother. The two women had been so close friends, having   
Marissya there would have been almost like having Isabelle. . . only not.  
  
"Serena's mother was heartbroken at being thrown out of the palace   
after loyally serving the Queen for so long. She felt so betrayed by your   
father that she wanted nothing more than to leave the country, to get as   
far away from him as possible. So she took her daughter, and left.  
  
"They sailed to Ardonia, where, I heard, they lived on a farming   
estate for a time, until Marissya met, and fell in love with, the cousin   
of a nobleman. They were married, and I heard nothing more from that part   
of the world for a long time, except that Serena was always very unhappy   
there.  
  
"The silence from Ardonia was broken only a few months ago, when   
Serena wrote to say she was coming home, and to say that . . . Marissya   
had died."  
  
Eliza paused, letting her words sink in. Darien said nothing,   
suddenly finding the floor very interesting.  
  
"Now, as for why Serena would enforce a distancing between you,"   
Eliza continued, "You must understand that the terms on which Marissya   
left were very disturbing. She swore she would never forgive Albert for   
his betrayal of not only her, but Isabelle as well. Albert took her   
comments about Isabelle as a personal insult, and threatened to have her   
killed."   
  
Darien's jaw dropped at this, but Eliza only sighed, and shook her   
head. "There was no substance to the threat, but it only served to   
increase Marissya's anger. I would not be at all surprised if she had   
passed that anger on to Serena, hence her coldness towards you."  
  
There was a long silence, until Darien finally spoke. "You honestly   
think that's why she won't speak to me?"   
  
"I am speculating only, but it seems the most logical reason to me.   
And I also think," she added carefully, "that Serena is the most   
forgiving of God's creatures on this planet. And if I'm right, and that   
is the reason for her coldness, I believe you will be able to heal the   
rift between you. She will see you were not responsible for her pain."  
  
She watched the young man for a long moment, carefully noting his   
torment before she said, "If you feel the need to heal this friendship,   
Darien, then it will be up to *you* to take the steps for it. Serena  
would not - *could* not - approach a Prince for such a matter."  
  
Darien's deep eyes became wistful. "You think I should try, then?"  
  
Eliza closed her eyes, rubbing them slowly. "Prudence would have me   
warning you away from her. We all know the rumours that circulate the   
towns." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "But I can't stand to see you   
so upset. So I think you should follow your heart, whatever it tells you   
to do."  
  
"But will she accept me? She hasn't so far. I... I don't see what I   
could do that would change her mind."  
  
Eliza chuckled. "I can't tell you your destiny, Darien. You'd have   
to ask Sailor Venus that one."  
  
Darien raised his eyebrows sharply. "Why Venus?" he asked, confused.   
"What does Mina have to do with any of this?"   
  
Realising what she had just said, what she had let slip, Eliza's   
eyes widened. "Well, I, er, I mean that is..." Then, as her brow furrowed   
into a soft frown, she stopped, looking at Darien with such wonder that   
he involuntarily drew back from her.   
  
"What is it?" he demanded.  
  
"You... you really don't know, do you Darien? You've lived with the   
Senshi your whole life and you still don't know their true power?"  
  
"Perhaps you had better explain what you're talking about," Darien   
ground out harshly. "If this affects the Royal Guard I have a right to   
know."  
  
Eliza nodded slowly. "Very well. But I warn you, it is a long   
story..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Pastries! Bread for sale!"  
  
"Spices from far away!"  
  
"Rugs for sale! Finest wool rugs!"  
  
"Oh my! Is it always this noisy?" a confused Serena asked Susanna,   
who merely shrugged.   
  
"Nay, girl. Saturday is the busiest day, after all. Normally you can   
at least hear yourself think." Susanna Mayer - known as Sue to her   
friends - was the eldest daughter of the Mayers, just two years older   
than Serena. She had grown up on the land, but despite their   
similarities, she maintained a cold front towards Serena, constantly   
reminding her that the younger girl was *just* a servant. "Now, Maggie's   
stall is just down the lane, so go and buy three loaves from her, and be   
quick about it. I'll be over here by the vegetable stand," she ordered   
sharply, and turned away.  
  
Serena nodded to her retreating back, ever eager to please her new   
employer, and hurried away, humming to herself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"And so you see, Darien, when the current Senshi marry and have   
children, they too will be raised as warriors, not just as soldiers to   
the throne, but as guardians of the planet. Their individual powers are   
drawn from their respective planets. Venus is the Senshi of love, Mars   
controls fire; Mercury water; and Jupiter lightning. But I must warn   
you," she added hastily, "Do not attempt to speak to them over this   
matter. The power of the Senshi has been a fiercely guarded secret for   
generations, and it will remain that way until such a time arises as   
their powers are again needed to protect the Earth."  
  
Darien shook his head in wonder. Who would have thought... "But   
then why are you telling me?" he asked carefully. Rei, he found, he could   
quite imagine as a fiery warrior, but sweet little Ami? How was it   
possible?   
  
Eliza turned to the side of the tent, as if staring beyond its   
walls for a moment. "I have lived a long, long time, Darien. And I feel   
deep in my heart, that the time of the Senshi is coming. Soon. And if you   
can handle any more shocks today," she added grimly, "I have something   
for you to think about." Darien nodded, signalling her to continue. "The   
Senshi's main role, when all is said and done, is to protect the Prince   
of the Earth - you, Darien. Ask yourself why, with all their power, they   
would want to do that. And therein you will find your destiny."  
  
Prince Darien sighed as he walked away from Eliza's tent. The old   
woman spoke in too many riddles for him to understand half of what she   
said. And this latest one - he would find his destiny? What on Earth did   
that mean?   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Good girl," Susanna said flatly, when Serena returned with the   
bread. "Now go right up the end of this row and buy a cup of salt. I'll   
be in the tavern as I have some business to see to, so I'll meet you back   
here in half an hour, all right." Without waiting for a reply, the tall   
girl had vanished into the crowd, leaving Serena staring about herself,   
instantly lost in the mash of stalls. But, ever determined, she plastered   
a firm smile on her face and set off, weaving between children and   
stalls, tempted one way by a bright jewel that she could never afford,   
and another by the sweet smell of cooking.  
  
"Cakes! Pastries! Sweet cakes for a pretty lady, yes? You come see   
Maria, pretty lady."  
  
Serena looked up and smiled at the short, dark haired woman.   
"Ah yes, you buy cakes from Maria! Best cakes you buy anywhere.   
Mmm." Though friendly, Maria was quick at snapping up a hapless customer,   
who wasn't quick enough, or blunt enough, to refuse her.  
  
Serena looked over the cakes, and selected a fruit bun. She fished   
out the small coin to pay for it, and Maria instantly becomes more   
friendly at having made a sale.  
  
"You new a-here, yes? I see all peoples in da markets, but I notta  
see you here 'afore."  
  
"No, I only arrived recently."  
  
"Ah, yes. You stay here a long time, okay?" Maria grinned toothily,   
honestly delighted at seeing a new face. "Dis good country. You no need   
to go anywhere else. Prince Darien here, see, he good Prince. He do   
everything for da people. But he notta find-a da wife!" she added   
ruefully. "He need-a da wife, hmm."  
  
Serena raised one eyebrow in amusement. "Really. I'm sure there are   
plenty of rich women falling all over him." she replied, a sardonic edge   
to her voice.   
  
Maria frowned at her rather distastefully. "You not be hard on da   
Prince, lady. He good Prince, he work hard. You not scorn him!" She shook   
her finger at Serena, who found herself blushing at her own harsh words.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just didn't realise. . ."  
  
This hasty apology was enough to pacify Maria, and her smile   
instantly returned. "Ah yes, Prince Majesty comes to markets often time,   
see, maybe you meet him, and see he is good man, yes. You lucky if you   
meet Prince Charming, ooh yes, hehehe. PASTRIES! Cakes for the children.   
You come see Maria, yes?"  
  
Serena looked round in surprise, as she realised the old woman had   
forgotten she was there, far more interested in making another sale.   
With a sigh, and a self-reproaching shake of her head, Serena   
continued her wander up the row of stalls.  
  
Eventually finding her salt, Serena tucked the pouch safely away,   
then began to browse back down the row, rubbing her temples from a sudden   
headache. It had come upon her suddenly after talking to the old woman,   
Maria, and she sighed with relief as she saw a rack of herbs, sure she   
would find a remedy with one of the concoctions.  
  
The old woman at the stall was dozing as Serena approached, and she   
cleared her throat three times before she resorted to simply tapping the   
woman on the shoulder.   
  
"Eh? What? Oh, forgive me, child. I was just dozing. What can I do   
for you?"  
  
"I was looking for a headache remedy. Do you have any?"  
  
Eliza looked her up and down critically, her tired eyes sparkling   
suddenly. "No, child," she corrected her. "It's not your head that's the   
problem. You want a *heartache* remedy, I think."  
  
Eliza chuckled at Serena's obvious confusion. "I'm sorry Serena. I   
have a habit of confusing people, it seems. It *is* Serena isn't it?" she   
added.  
  
Serena nodded. "Yes, yes, but I don't think I know *you*."  
  
"Surely you remember your old Aunt Eliza?"  
  
Serena's eyes opened wide, her full lips cracking an incorrigible   
grin. "Eliza! Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't recognise you. It's been an age   
since I saw you!"  
  
"I almost didn't recognise you myself. But I'll never forget those   
eyes. They're still shining like the sun. I'll tell you, I hung on every   
word of those letters you sent me! I spent half my life worrying over you   
in Ardonia... Oh where are my manners. Come inside and have a cup of tea.   
We've got a heap of catching up to do."  
  
Inside the tent, Serena sank into a chair, returning Eliza's harsh   
glare ruefully.   
  
"Now, child," Eliza began, once she had served the tea. "What's all   
this about a heartache? You've got a young man on your mind, am I right?   
Prince Darien?"  
  
Serena blushed, then chuckled at her own silliness. "Yes, I suppose   
I do. I met the Prince soon after I arrived, and since then I can't get   
him out of my head. That man irritates me so much! But," she added, "how   
did you know it was him on my mind?"  
  
Eliza smiled crookedly. "I see the Prince around now and then. He   
mentioned your name. And I doubt you've been in the country long enough   
to be getting into trouble with more than one young man." Serena flushed   
deeper. "What is it about him that vexes you so?"  
  
Serena sighed and shook her head. "He's just like every other   
snobbish Prince in the world - arrogant and powerful. But... I don't know.   
There was just something about him that seemed... different. When I first   
met him he treated me... almost like I was important somehow. I know I'm   
just a peasant, and I couldn't have meant anything to him, but it felt   
kind of nice for a while. And then I get angry at myself for liking it,   
and then I get angry at him for making me feel that way!"  
  
Eliza gave her a sympathetic smile. "Oh dear, child. We're just   
going round in circles, aren't we. But let me tell you, Serena, I've   
known Darien all his life, and he *is* a kind man. I don't know what led   
you to believe otherwise, but just give him a chance and you'll see."  
  
But Serena shook her head. "I'm sorry, Eliza. I've known too many   
noblemen and been betrayed by them all. I just don't believe that someone   
with that much power can be as honourable as you claim he is."  
  
"Well if you don't believe me, try talking to some of the peasants.   
They'll all tell you the same thing."  
  
Serena smiled gently. "I appreciate the effort, Eliza. But people   
even spoke well of Kollis in Ardonia. There were penalties for speaking   
against the Crown, and I need more evidence than word of mouth to think   
well of Prince Darien."  
  
Finally, Eliza sighed in defeat. "Serena, I'm not going to tell you   
how to think. If it pleases you to do so then stay right away from   
Darien. But please, Serena. Open your heart just a little," she pleaded,   
her hand over her own heart. "And remember, I'll always be here if you   
need a willing ear."  
  
Serena reached out, wrapping the woman's wrinkled hand in her own.   
"Thank you Eliza. It's good to know I still have friends here."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien idly wiped the sweat from his brow as he wandered amongst the   
stalls. As a Prince it was inevitable that he receive the occasional odd   
glance, but for the most part he was left alone. In fact, this was   
another reason why he frequented the markets - people became accustomed   
to seeing him, and so he didn't get swamped with attention whenever he   
left the palace. Today he was particularly grateful for the solitude, as   
his mind was far too busy to bother with overzealous peasants. He had   
wandered twice around the market and was still utterly confused by   
Eliza's riddles. To make matters worse, that melody from the previous   
night's dreams was haunting him again, playing over and over in his   
head... wait a minute. That wasn't his mind playing the tune. He could   
actually hear it! But where was it coming from??  
  
  
Realising she was late back to Susanna, Serena picked up her skirts   
and ran down between the stalls. She had worked hard to secure her   
position with the Mayers and the last thing she wanted was to start being   
late. Unfortunately, running through a crowded market was not a wise   
thing to do, and suddenly she went tumbling to the ground, colliding with   
some unseen object. To her dismay, she looked up to see it was a little   
boy, about 5 years old, and on the brink of tears over his scraped knees.  
  
In a flash, Serena had scooped the little boy into her arms. "Oh   
dear, little one. Come on, don't cry. Don't cry. I'll sing you a song and   
make it all better, okay?"  
  
The wide eyed child merely nodded solemnly, and sucked in his   
quivering lower lip.  
  
Without thinking, Serena began to sing the first song that came into   
her head.  
  
  
Darien followed the sound blindly, wondering if it could truly be   
who he thought it was. But it couldn't be anyone else. Only two people in   
the world knew that melody...  
  
Then he spotted a blond head in the crowd, and his heart stopped.   
Every word Eliza had spoken fled from his mind as he stared at her. She   
had her back to him, a young child resting on her hip, and as he   
approached her from behind, he noticed the dirt smears down her side.   
Oh my angel, are you hurt? He waited though, unwilling to disturb that   
heavenly sound until he had to.  
  
Unaware of her audience, Serena continued singing.   
"I promise, and if I ever die,  
"I'll return that promise to the star in the sky . . ."  
  
A male voice interrupted her. "That we'll be friends forever more.  
"After all, that's what friends are for."  
  
Her head snapped up, her eyes changing from joyful to cold in an   
instant. She allowed the child to slide from her arms, and he immediately   
raced away into the stalls, leaving Serena feeling strangely exposed.  
  
Darien shuddered at the cold glare he was receiving, but any caution   
that would have said stop now fled, as he temporarily took leave of his   
senses, the sight of this ethereal beauty filling him. He had to speak to   
her. That's all he knew.  
  
"Serena," he murmured, his voice gentle. "Can we talk?"  
  
Whether this was meant as the innocent request it sounded like,   
Serena didn't know, and she didn't honestly care. She couldn't have   
refused it either way. As far as she was concerned, it was the command of   
a Prince, and she must comply, however much her pulse was racing at the   
thought of it.  
  
"Of course, Sire."  
  
His soft eyes seemed to bore holes into her. "Do you believe me now,   
Serena? I told you we played together as children. You and I are the only   
two people in the world who know that tune. Do you see now, it's true."  
  
Serena's mind simply shut down for a moment. No. NO! No, it's not   
possible. I never played with a PRINCE! My friend was a servant's child.   
He must have been. This isn't happening. This isn't happening!!  
  
She shook her head, looking for any and every excuse to get away   
from him, overjoyed, offended at the obvious truth of it. "It was a   
childhood rhyme, that's all. It means nothing now. It was such a long   
time ago," she rambled, never once meeting his gaze.  
  
Darien's eyes became harder, but his heart sank. "I don't believe   
that, Serena." He reached out to force her to look at him. "And I know   
you don't either. You wish on the same star I do, Serena. Just to the   
left of the moon, in an empty patch of sky?"  
  
Though she shook her head, he saw the truth in her eyes. "I... we   
were just children..." she gasped.  
  
"Serena!!" Serena cringed as she recognised Susanna's voice through the   
crowd. "I told you to be back in half an hour. Where have you been? What   
do you think you're doing. . . Oh, Your Majesty!" Susanna stared wide   
eyed as she noticed the frowning Prince. "I'm so sorry, Sire. I didn't   
mean to interrupt, I didn't realise you were here. I, er, I'll just...   
wait over here for you Serena..." She ducked quickly away, trying to hide   
the bright flush of her cheeks.  
  
In the precious moments of Susanna's interruption, Serena had   
gathered her shattered composure to some semblance of control, but it was   
lost again the instant Darien spoke to her.   
  
"Serena..."  
  
His voice stroked her senses with such gentle longing that she once   
again found herself speechless.   
  
"Serena, I know you're sc..."  
  
"DARIEN!"  
  
He whipped round, anger flaring as Malachite reined his horse to a   
tight halt before him. "Not now, Malachite," he bit coldly, but to his   
dismay, the guard remained by his side.  
  
"You're wanted at the Palace instantly. The King has summoned you."  
  
Darien stood in indecision for a split second, he eyes wandering   
over Serena's dark face in anguish. Albert could not be ignored, under   
*any* circumstances, yet he couldn't possibly leave things as they were   
between the two of them... but before he had thought about it, he had   
leapt onto his horse, turning from Serena with a tight hiss as he   
galloped the magnificent animal back toward the Palace, a train of the   
royal guard in tow.  
  
Serena stared mutely after the retreating horses, feeling herself   
be swallowed up by their dust. The Earth seemed to tremble beneath her,   
as her heart trembled within. She felt as if her world had been ripped   
to shreds. Who would have thought, that her avowed childhood friend would   
also be her sworn enemy? Before, it had been so clear - who to hate and   
who to love. Now, she was torn, destined to follow either her heart, or   
the fading memory of her mother's love, but never both.  
  



	4. Whever the Path May Lead

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 4  
Wherever the Path May Lead . . .  
  
  
Prince Darien leaned his head back, and sighed. The dappled green of   
the leaves above his head helped calm his thoughts for a moment, as much   
as the gentle plodding of his horse's hooves beneath him. The forest was   
cool this morning, a light rain the night before having settled the dust   
and set a thick humidity in the air. Pensive thoughts had plagued him all   
morning, Eliza's riddled words and Serena's cold fear of him taking it in   
turns to torment him. He thought of the young woman now, remembering with   
a sigh how she had looked the last time he had seen her, like a dusty   
angel landed on Earth by mistake, her eyes aflame with honesty and   
goodwill despite the anger that had flared in them. Looking around the   
dappled glens, he suddenly tired of his melancholic mood, instead focusing   
of the beauty around him.   
  
Taking advantage of the sudden light-headedness, Darien urged his   
horse into a canter, even the gelding seeming happy with the sudden   
change of temper.  
  
  
Serena sighed as she plucked yet another nut from the ground, wiping   
her soiled hands on her skirts. The mud made no difference to the faded   
cloth any more, and Serena realised with concern that she would soon have   
to replace the old clothes. She thought regretfully of the small pile of   
her savings that she still had, and mentally worked it out... No, she   
realised with dismay. She couldn't possibly afford a new frock yet. This   
one would have to last a little longer.   
  
Tears sprang to her eyes as the forlorn girl gazed down at herself.   
Unbidden thoughts of Prince Darien sprang to mind, and she pictured him   
as she had last seen him, all shining magnificence on his proud horse,   
his robes dark and new, while she stood in faded, dirt-smeared clothes,   
her hair tangled and her face streaked with sweat. And to think, he had   
once considered her on the same level as him. She could scarcely imagine   
what he thought of her now. But he had as near as told her - she had seen   
the look of distaste on his face, just before he had turned away from   
her that last time...  
  
With a cry of frustration as her own self-derision, she sprang up   
from her seat on the forest floor, and ran. Just ran. Anywhere to get   
away from her own thoughts and escape the pounding headache that was   
beginning anew.  
  
Serena raced along beside a tall hedge, the cold air welcome as it   
burned her lungs. As she reached the end of the row, she dashed round   
the corner, never even hearing the hoofbeats on the loose dirt. . .  
  
"EEEEeeeeeeeeee!"  
  
Like the hand of a powerful god perched above her, the hooves of the   
black horse seemed to hover for an impossible length of time. The rider,   
too, seemed all darkness and power, and with a strong hand he wrenched   
the animal's head to the side, it's hooves pounding the dirt scant inches   
from her. Then the huge horse reared again, this time throwing its rider   
before it bolted.   
  
Serena was scrambling to her feet even as the man fell, diving to   
his aid as his body hit the ground and went limp.   
  
Oh no! Please be all right. *Please* be all right.  
  
Carefully, she turned the unconscious man, noting dimly that his   
clothing bore insignia, and he was therefore a noble. The dull   
implications of that fact failed to shock her for a moment.  
  
A bleeding gash beside his temple and a half buried rock told the   
rest of the story. But the biggest shock was to come.  
  
She needed no insignia to tell her that this man was indeed   
nobility. For a sickeningly long moment, her heart stopped. Prince   
Darien...  
  
"NOOOO! HELP! JOSEPHINE! HELP ME!"  
  
Forgotten nuts scattered on the ground, Serena bolted.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well I don't see why you were there in the first place," Malachite   
fumed at a shaking Serena. "It was sheer recklessness! He could have been   
seriously injured. I'm extremely . . ."  
  
"Malachite, shut up," Rei snapped at the seething man. "It was an   
accident. You know that as well as I do."  
  
The two Guards sat beside Darien's bed in the Mayer's upper rooms,   
a host of servants lingering in the doorway. Word had been sent quickly   
to the Palace after a hysterical Serena had arrived back from her walk.   
The Mayers had hastily followed her back to the unconscious prince,   
carting him as carefully as possible back to their house. A flurry of   
royal personelle had arrived moments later, invading the house while   
Serena had hidden in the cellar, Josephine's attempts at comfort going to   
waste, while Serena declared unwaveringly that Darien would have her   
beheaded for such a terrible crime. She had caused him who knows how much   
pain, and there was no excuse for injuring royalty. Finally, Malachite,   
introduced to the household as Darien's Personal Guard, had demanded to   
know how the Prince's injury had occurred, at which stage Serena was   
dragged up to the bedroom, to be cross-examined by the outraged man.   
  
The gash on Darien's head had been cleaned, and examined by a   
doctor, who had pronounced him not seriously injured, but Malachite none   
the less saw the injury as life-threatening, and took it out on a terrified   
Serena.  
  
Mars turned sympathetically to Serena, who sat in the middle of the   
floor sobbing harshly. "It wasn't your fault, and I'm sure Prince Darien   
won't hold it against you. Malachite's just over-reacting..."  
  
"I am not! The Prince's life has been threatened! And don't you   
dare talk back to me! I'm his personal bodyguard..."  
  
"You're the same rank as I am, you overdressed puppet. Now shut up   
and leave the poor girl alone. You're scaring the living daylights out of   
her."  
  
Stunned by this verbal attack, Malachite finally fell silent. If he   
thought rationally about it, he knew Darien wouldn't have been angry with   
the girl. In all truth, he was reacting merely from his deep worry for   
Darien's safety. As he had said, he was the Prince's personal guard, and   
if this injury should fall on anyone's head, it would be his own.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Excuse me, Lady Rei?"  
  
A short, light-haired man hovered in the kitchen doorway, causing   
the raven haired Senshi to look up. "My name is Steven Mayer. I, er, I   
have recovered the Prince's horse. We found him tangled in briars down by   
the river. He has thrown a shoe, but otherwise he seems uninjured. Would   
you... would you like me to return him to the palace?"  
  
Despite the fact that the man was over forty, he was stuttering   
like a boy, but Rei was accustomed to the effect she had on people. The   
Senshi of Mars was a powerful woman, her black hair and harsh violet eyes,   
not to mention her cool, impressive self-confidence, had caused more than   
one man to think twice before approaching her.  
  
"No, thank you. I'll have one of our servants see to him. You're   
free to return to your harvest."  
  
Steven bowed deeply, and backed out of the room. In a way, Mars   
felt sorry for the family. The unfortunate accident had happened right in   
the middle of their harvest, and precious time had been lost while they   
cared for the Prince, and sent various messengers back and forth to the   
Palace, when they should have been in the fields, and now, she found out,   
Steven had been out all day tracking the wayward horse. Still, protecting   
their Prince was every countryman's duty. It was just an unfortunate   
coincidence, really.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Malachite stared at the strange young woman in consternation. She   
stood, head bowed, in the corner of the room, unmoved although the rest   
of the servants had left.  
  
Malachite sat by Darien's bed, determined to stay with him until he   
woke, but he had sent everyone else out of the room, the household   
servants to return to their harvest, and the royal servants to retire   
downstairs until needed. Serena, though, had remained.  
  
Finally, his silent stare became too much for Serena, and she asked   
suddenly, "Is there anything you need, Sir?"  
  
Malachite started at the sudden interruption to his thoughts. "No,   
thank you," he returned quickly. "I said you may leave."  
  
"I wanted to be here when the Prince woke, in case he needed   
anything, Sir."  
  
Malachite raised an eyebrow. "That's why *I'm* here, Serena. I'll   
send for you if we need anything."  
  
Serena looked at the floor again. "I know, Sir."  
  
Malachite waited a moment, but the girl remained in the room. He   
tried again. "He has servants who can look after him. That's what they're   
here for."  
  
"Yes, Sir." She didn't move.  
  
Malachite began to suspect that there was a deeper problem. "It may   
be several hours before the Prince wakes. I think . . ."  
  
"Please, Sir," she interrupted. "I wish to stay with him, Sir."   
Despite her submissive posture, her voice left no room for argument.  
  
Malachite raised one eyebrow. "I was merely going to suggest that   
you sit down," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he motioned to   
a stool.  
  
Serena looked up, surprised, but none the less moved to the offered   
seat, perching on it hesitantly.  
  
"Now tell me," the tall man began gently. "What's troubling you?"  
  
Serena avoided his gaze. "I don't know what you mean, Sir."  
  
Malachite's mouth twisted wryly. "Just because I'm not the Prince   
of the Earth doesn't mean I can't tell you're lying."  
  
Serena blushed bright red. "I... er, I mean I... oh, it's nothing   
important."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Did you mean what you said," she whispered, "about me being   
punished for harming the Prince?"  
  
So that's what it was! He had no idea she'd taken it so   
seriously. He wasn't badly hurt, after all, Malachite thought, colouring   
with chagrin. But it was no wonder, really, he told himself, with his   
mouthing off at her earlier.  
  
He sighed. "No, Serena. I'm... I'm sorry for scaring you like that.   
I know it wasn't your fault. And I'm sure Darien won't blame you either.   
He is generous to a fault most of the time," he added dryly.  
  
"I'm sorry," Serena muttered. "I really am. I never meant for   
anything to happen..."  
  
"I know." Malachite smiled down at the meek girl, recalling the   
fondness Darien had shown for her. "Everything will be all right," he   
told her. "I promise."  
  
A faint light assaulted Darien's eyes as he struggled to open them.   
He heard a moan, and realised it was his own voice, and then another   
voice answered him.   
  
"Darien?"  
  
He wrenched his eyes open, a flood of memories overwhelming his   
senses. Forest. . .forest-horse-blond-girl-scream-horse-rear-fall...  
  
"Take it easy! Calm down, it's all right."  
  
He felt a hand on his arm, pushing him back down on the . . . bed?   
How did I get here...?  
  
"You've had a nasty blow to the head. I don't want you moving   
around too much."  
  
Darien blinked. "Malachite?"  
  
The face above him smiled. "Well, at least you don't have amnesia."  
  
Darien sat up slowly, surveying the room. "Where am I?"  
  
"Some peasants were kind enough to bring you to their home, the   
Mayers, if you've heard of them. You've been unconscious for most of the   
afternoon."  
  
Darien nodded, until a shadowy figure behind his guard caught his   
attention. She seemed to be hiding there like a frightened child, and   
he peered around to see her with curiosity. "Serena?"  
  
Malachite stepped back suddenly, leaving Serena unexpectedly   
exposed.   
  
She opened her mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it,   
and bowed instead. "Yes, Your Majesty?"  
  
Darien, too, seemed at a loss for words momentarily, until   
Malachite broke in with, "Serena was the unfortunate cause of your   
accident, Darien."  
  
This caused him to look up at her in alarm, but what he said next   
stunned her. "You're not hurt, are you?"  
  
She had expected anger, or annoyance, at the very least. She had   
even thought about a condescending forgiveness, but she had not thought   
for one moment that he would be concerned about her.  
  
"N...no. I'm fine, Your Majesty."  
  
"Your horse has been recovered and sent back to the palace,"   
Malachite interjected.  
  
"Hm? Yeah, okay," Darien brushed the comment off, his eyes still   
fixed on Serena. "What were you doing out there in the first place,   
Serena?"  
  
"I... I was collecting nuts?"  
  
He was taken aback. "And that meant you had to run under my horse's   
hooves, did it?"  
  
She bowed her head, blushing in shame. "I'm very sorry, Your   
Majesty. I didn't realise you were there. I was just... going for a run   
and I..."  
  
"Serena," he interrupted gently but firmly. "I'm not blaming you. I   
just want to make sure you're all right, that's all."  
  
Despite herself, she had to smile at the earnest concern on his   
face.   
  
"I'm fine, really."  
  
He smiled back, it tugging at the corners of his lips quirkily.   
"Good."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I don't care whether you feel up to it or not, you're not moving   
back to the Palace until tomorrow!" Malachite practically yelled at his   
Prince, as they stood face to face in the middle of the bedroom.  
  
Darien scowled at him. "We've imposed long enough on these people,   
and there's no reason for me to stay any longer. I..."  
  
"You've been unconscious all afternoon! If that's not a good reason   
then I don't know what..."  
  
"Gentlemen, please!" Both men looked round as an aging woman stood   
in the doorway. "You're not imposing in any way, Your Majesty. Please,   
stay as long as you need to."  
  
Darien remained silent, while Malachite smirked triumphantly.   
  
"Now, if you're feeling well enough, I'd like you to come   
downstairs and have dinner with us," Nellie Mayers continued. "It's a   
simple fare, I'm afraid," she added, somewhat embarrassed, "but you're   
welcome to it if you like."  
  
Darien smiled kindly. "Thank you. We'll be down in a moment."  
The Prince waited for her to leave, then sighed. He tried to catch   
Malachite's eye as he strode out of the room, but the guard knew when to   
keep his head down. Darien sighed harshly, and followed.  
  
  
Darien fought the colour back from his cheeks as Serena placed a   
plate in front of him. It had not occurred to him until that moment that   
eating at the Mayers would naturally mean having Serena wait on him, and   
he found the idea truly embarrassing. It shattered any of his ideas of   
their easily returning to the roles of 'friends' - nothing could more   
clearly define their respective places in life than this, and he would   
have done anything to prevent it.  
  
She, herself, simply kept her head down and avoided his eye, and   
almost jumped out of her skin when he turned fully to face her.   
  
"Thank you," he whispered, as she set the dish down, and she   
flushed an even brighter shade of red. Addressing servants during a meal   
was unusual at best - they were usually regarded as to be seen and not   
heard - and she didn't know how to respond, if indeed a response was   
required. Her lip trembled as her lower jaw refused to shut, and she   
ducked in a quick curtsy and hurried away.  
  
As Nellie had said, the meal was simple. It consisted of plain   
roast meat and unseasoned vegetables, no doubt pulled from the garden   
just hours before. Darien, however, could find nothing at fault with the   
meal, and easily complimented her generosity.   
  
After putting Nellie at ease, dismissing her nervous questioning   
over whether the meat was cooked enough or if the vegetables were too   
soft, Darien listened in fascination to the gentle banter passing across   
the table. Dinner-time conversation around the palace always consisted of   
politics or administration affairs over the running of the palace. Never   
had he heard the gentle joking and by-play surrounding the everyday   
events of life - Had the children found their lost pair of shoes? Had the   
neighbours heard about the local gipsies? Was Uncle Edward's horse still   
lame?  
  
It continued thus until a knock at the front door interrupted. A   
servant hurried to open it, and entered the room moments later followed   
by a messenger from the palace.  
  
Perched at the edge of the room with the other servants, Serena   
blanched as the newcomer entered the room. Though a simple messenger, he   
was dressed in a fine red wool jacket, polished and gleaming right down   
to his black boots. Her own rags of a dress shrank even further in   
comparison. It seemed almost cruel that someone of her own position in   
life could have access to such luxuries simply because he served royalty   
instead of farmers. With a surge of self-respect, she told herself firmly   
that she wouldn't want to serve royalty - no amount of pampering could   
make up for the inevitable snobbery that type of job would be subject to.   
'Oh really?' an inner voice questioned her. 'Then how come you're happily   
serving royalty *now*?' She forcefully ignored the idea.  
  
The messenger crossed the room quickly, his boots clicking on the   
floorboards, then snapped a sharp salute to the Prince. "I bring an   
urgent message from His Majesty the King," he stated sharply, producing a   
folded letter for Darien. Serena watched in curiosity as Darien took the   
letter, reading it quickly, his face darkening with every passing moment,   
then he stood suddenly, excusing himself from the room.   
  
A hushed silence followed him, everyone dying with curiosity, but   
either too discrete or too apprehensive to say anything.  
  
In the next room, hidden from view to the Mayers, Darien took a   
blank sheet of parchment from the messenger and scrawled a quick reply to   
the letter, annoyance biting at the edge of him temper.   
  
It was not the subject, but the wording of the letter that had him   
biting back his anger. Albert had been scheduled to visit Delonica for   
several weeks - a diplomatic visit more about public relations than   
politics - and had decided at the last minute not to go, based on   
Darien's ill health. The gesture in itself may have appeared caring or   
considerate, but Albert's choice of words left Darien in no doubt that he   
saw the whole thing as a great inconvenience.   
  
'Given that in your current condition,' Albert had written, 'you   
are no doubt in no fit state to govern Terranis, I have had to delay my   
excursion.' There was no hint of concern over his wellbeing, but had   
there been, Darien had to admit, he would only have found it patronising.   
He scribbled a scathing reply, telling Albert in no uncertain terms that   
he was perfectly well, and couldn't wait for him to leave the country.   
  
Sealing the letter with wax, and an imprint of the royal insignia   
from his ring, Darien sent the messenger scampering back to the palace,   
but hesitated a moment before returning to the dining room. Hands   
gripping the edge of the table, he willed his harsh breathing to slow,   
and the tension to drain slightly from his face, before turning back to   
the open doorway, unwilling to face his hosts with any hint of the cold   
bitterness he was feeling. He never saw the pale figure that darted   
from his view just before he turned, and never suspected that his cold   
display of emotion had been witnessed by a golden haired angel, in the   
guise of a servant girl.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dusk settled quickly over the land, and with it came a pounding   
headache for Darien. Only three of the Royal Guard remained with him now,   
the rest of his band of servants having been sent back to the palace.   
Darien was ever aware of his intrusion into the Mayers' lives, and kept   
his presence to a minimum. Malachite, of course, had chosen to stay with   
him, and had chosen Rei and Jadeite to remain as well.  
  
They had joined the Mayers in their sitting room after dinner,   
Malachite trying to persuade Darien to go to bed, while he stubbornly   
insisted he was fine. Nellie sat in the corner, knitting a new sweater   
for her youngest daughter, while Steven, her husband, relaxed in a large   
chair, reading a letter. Serena and two other servants, Marcus and Cathy,   
stood against the wall, awaiting any command from their master and   
mistress, or, in fact, from anyone in the room, right down to the   
children playing on the rug.   
  
Darien leant back against the sofa, resisting the urge to massage   
his neck as it would only draw more attention from Malachite. Instead he   
tried to will the headache away, unwilling to show any more pain than was   
necessary.  
  
Suddenly a scream from outside pierced the air, making everyone in   
the room jump. Darien jerked up from his seat, instantly regretting it as   
he felt a stab of pain in his head.  
  
"Help! Thieves!" A servant girl screamed as she ran into the room,   
and straight into Steven's arms. "There are twenty gipsies outside! We're   
under attack!"  
  
Steven quickly steadied the girl, and nodded to Marcus, who   
produced a bundle of swords from the closet. "We'll take care of this,"   
Steven ordered. "The rest of you stay in here."  
  
Rei, Jadeite and Malachite were also on their feet. "By the sounds   
of it, you'll need our help," he told the farmer. "Stay here, Darien.   
We'll take care of this."  
  
Darien nodded weakly, in no frame of mind to argue, and sank back   
into the seat, his head pounding.  
  
Behind him, the women had gathered into a huddled group, listening   
anxiously to the sounds of battle from outside. Serena, however, stood   
perched at the edge of the group, indecision tearing at her. She could   
help with the fight outside, she was sure, but... too often in her life   
she had felt the sting of rejection from the people around her, because   
she had behaved strangely, or been different. Women did not fight, and   
she was reluctant to break her humble guise now.  
  
"Get out, you filth!"   
  
Serena's head snapped round. Standing in the doorway, evidently   
having slipped past the Guard in the confusion outside, was a dirty,   
olive skinned man, sword in hand and a wicked gleam in his eyes. His gaze   
swung round the room slowly, eyeing the women lustfully, his lips drawing   
back to reveal crooked teeth, until his gaze fell on the Prince,   
helplessly seated, evidently in pain.  
  
One word escaped his lips, lust still evident, though his goal was   
very different now. "Gold." He advanced on the helpless Prince.  
  
"NO!" The gipsy barely had time to look up, let alone react as a   
suddenly ferocious Serena threw herself between the Prince, and the   
wide-eyed thief, the sword in her hands, swiftly grabbed from the table,   
wielded with all the confidence and surety of a master swordsman.  
  
Not even Serena was entirely sure what she was doing, unaware for   
the time being that she defended this man not because he was a Prince,   
all his arrogance and wealth forgotten, but instead, because in her   
mind's eyes, she saw him as her childhood friend - a friend in need of   
help.  
  
  
"Get out you filth!"  
  
Mars started as she heard the scream from within the house. Having   
rushed outside to defend the house, they had found not twenty, but only a   
dozen gipsies, but still enough to warrant a problem with only the five   
of them defending.  
  
Desperation made her blows suddenly swifter, as she downed the man   
she was fighting, and raced for the house. Darien!!  
  
She burst through the door and into the sitting room... where a   
most shocking sight met her eyes...  
  
The gipsy stood against the wall, fighting back Serena's blows in   
desperation. As skilled as he was, however, she was quicker. In a last-  
effort attack, he lunged for her, aiming straight for her chest, this   
time in an attempt not to maim, but to kill. In a flash, Serena had leapt   
to the side, sword shimmering as she disarmed the stunned man, and pinned   
him to the wall, her sword at his throat.   
  
Mars stepped slowly into the room, her initial burst of awe fading   
rapidly as she took control of the situation. Gently, she pushed the   
seething servant away, her own sword guiding the defeated man back outside.   
  
The rest of the gipsies had either fled, or fallen, now writhing on   
the ground in pain, and as she re-emerged from the house, Jadeite turned   
to face the thief.  
  
"What is the meaning of this? What made you *think* you could   
attack this house?" In the back of his mind, he was aware of the rest of   
the household, crowding into the doorway, and Prince Darien forcing his   
way through.  
  
The gipsy snarled at him. "Is not the first time gipsies 'av   
attacked a 'ouse."  
  
"Why here? Why now?"  
  
The gipsy shrugged. "Well, wi' all the commotion an' comin' an'   
goin' o' them fancy royal get-ups all day and that right fine horse in   
the yard it's no wonder some people take notice an' fink maybe there's   
sommin' worth getting 'ere, ay? I mean, we's only gipsies, we gotta get   
what we can when th'opportunity arises, you know what I'm sayin'."  
  
Jadeite was unimpressed. "Your Majesty?"  
  
Fighting back his headache, Darien glared, in no mood to deal with   
wayward vagrants. "Have them taken to the Eastern prison compound. They   
can serve a sentence there for a month or two." With nothing more to say,   
the tired Prince returned to the house, Malachite quickly following,   
while the rest of them stood, slightly dazed, around the front door. But,   
Rei noticed, Serena was nowhere to be seen.   
  
Jadeite volunteered to take care of the gipsies, and soon bade the   
house farewell as he mounted his horse, the prisoners in chains following   
behind him.  
  
Once she had seen them off, Rei returned to the house, to make sure   
Darien was all right, and wondering where Serena had gotten to. The first   
question was answered quickly - Darien had retired for the night, and   
Malachite had taken him upstairs, to sleep on the floor beside him and   
make sure no other threats presented themselves throughout the night.  
  
Serena, however, was harder to track down. In the end, Rei asked   
Nellie about it.   
  
"Ah, she's probably down in the cellar," she replied. "She always   
goes down there when she's upset. Strange girl... Oh, and if you do find   
her, could you tell her I want her up here. She's supposed to clean the   
kitchen before she goes to bed."  
  
Rei nodded, shaking her head in sympathy for the girl as she ducked   
down the stairs to the cellar.   
  
The cellar was dim when Rei opened the door, but she could still   
see the hunched figure in the corner, peering out the window at the far   
end. "Serena?"  
  
The figure started, then Rei heard a sigh, and the girl emerged   
from the dimness. "Yes, M'lady?"  
  
"Come upstairs, Serena. I'd like to talk to you." Shoulders slumped   
in defeat, Serena followed.  
  
Seated in the kitchen, Rei asked softly, "Serena, where did you   
learn to fight like that?"  
  
Eyes on the floor, Serena replied, "My step father taught me. In   
Ardonia."  
  
"What made you want to learn?"  
  
"I don't know. I just... I didn't have many friends, and there   
wasn't much to do around the manor, so some of the servants started   
teaching me, then Bernard found out and decided to keep going." She looked   
up, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I really am. I know women aren't   
supposed to fight, but Darien was in trouble, and I had to do something!   
I'm really sorry." She buried her face in her hands. "Wherever I go I end   
up doing something wrong."  
  
Rei placed a hand on her arm, rubbing it gently. "No, Serena. You   
haven't done anything wrong. In fact, I'm proud of you." Serena stared at   
her, disbelieving. "What you did was very brave. I haven't seen the kind   
of skills you've got for a long time. And if you're interested, I'd like   
to see more of what you can do." Serena nodded, then Rei continued. "I'd   
like you to come to the palace one day and train with the Senshi."  
  
Serena's jaw dropped. "Really? I mean, they'd really let me? I   
don't think I can, I'm not *that* good, you know." Was it possible she   
wondered in awe. To have the chance to train with real warriors, who   
would willingly improve her skills rather than shun her for her   
differences?  
  
"You let me be the judge of how good you are," Rei told her firmly.   
"Now, is that a yes, or a no?"  
  
"YES!" she squealed, barely containing the urge to jump up and down   
like a five year old. Fighting back laughter, Rei managed a controlled   
smiled. It was about time something good happened to this girl.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dawn came slowly, the faint light grazing the horizon seductively   
before the sun finally lifted into the sky.   
  
Darien slowly eased his eyes open, smiling at the clear morning,   
from his vantage point in bed. A night of sleep had removed his headache,   
and he stretched languorously between the cool sheets.  
  
Rolling over, he saw Malachite asleep on the floor, and carefully   
stepped around him to go to the window. But as he stared out, his good   
mood faded somewhat, and more serious thoughts filled the space.   
  
"Malachite? Malachite, wake up." The guard yawned sleepily.   
"Malachite!"   
  
He jerked awake. "Yes, Darien?"  
  
"Get up. I need you to go to the palace immediately."  
  
Malachite frowned. "What for?" he asked, already on his feet and   
pulling on his clothes.  
  
"Order three servants and a horse to come here as soon as possible   
to help the Mayers with their harvest." Darien could see his guard's   
confusion, and continued, "They've been put far behind schedule with our   
intrusion. If they don't have some help their crop will be lost."  
  
Malachite nodded, unwilling to argue, but not entirely sure why   
Darien would want to help a peasant family. He was a Prince - it was   
their role to serve him, not the other way around. He repressed a sigh as   
he headed for the door, thinking he would never quite understand the way   
Royalty went about things.  
  
"Malachite?" He stopped in the doorway, turning back to Darien.   
"Send for the carriage while you're there. Unless of course you're going   
to forbid me from going home again," he added sardonically. Malachite   
merely bowed, and left the room.  
  
Once he was gone, Darien turned back to the window. Outside, the   
entire household was in the fields, despite the fact that the sun had   
only just risen. Even Nellie was out, who was by all good sense too old   
for this type of hard work, and the oldest of their servants, right down   
to the oldest of the children, a girl of twelve just strong enough to be   
of use. Darien frowned, and turned away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nellie groaned as she rubbed her aching back, catching her breath   
by the house before she set off down the field again. This work was   
wreaking havoc on her old body, but if they didn't harvest the crops   
before the rains started they would be lost. She looked down the field   
again, and waved to Serena as the girl brought her load up to the cart by   
the house. Strange girl, Nellie thought, but she was a hard worker, and   
that was the most important thing.  
  
Nellie was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of hoofbeats, and   
she looked up, startled, as two horses cantered into the yard, each   
carrying two riders. One was the white haired guard - Malachite, she   
remembered. The other three she had not seen before. Dismounting, one of   
the strangers approached her.   
  
"Mrs Mayers?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"We have been brought here by request of Prince Darien to assist   
you with your harvest."  
  
Hidden by the cart, Serena went unnoticed by the servants, but she   
stopped her work for a moment, listening carefully to what they said.  
  
"We understand that you have been put behind schedule?"  
Nellie was stunned. "Yes, er, yes we have, but I didn't ask for any   
help..."  
  
"I know you didn't," a deep voice interrupted her. Darien smiled as   
he came down the steps from the house. "But that doesn't mean I can't   
offer. And since they've come all this way, I think they'd be upset if   
you didn't find something for them to do?" He added with a grin.  
  
"Th...thank you Sire." Nellie replied, stunned. She flushed deeply,   
overcome by both joy and gratitude.  
  
From her hiding place, Serena gaped in wonder. Her earlier words   
came back to her, spoken days before in irritation; 'I need more evidence   
than word of mouth to think well of Prince Darien.' Well, if it was   
evidence she needed, here it was. She would never have dreamed that a   
Prince could be so considerate or so generous. Previously, she had   
doubted Darien would even realise they were behind, let alone consider   
offering help! Angrily, she thought of Kollis. Surely *he* would never   
have made a concession like this.   
  
But then Darien continued, "Three servants are of little   
consequence to us - we have more than enough. But you will benefit a lot   
from the help, so I see no reason not to offer it."  
  
Ah ha! screamed her pride, with victory. Of course the Prince   
would not have given up the workers if he was losing out because of it.   
She should have known no noble would have acted simply from the kindness   
of his heart. She had seen what he was truly like last night, she   
recalled suddenly, when he had left the room during dinner. After he had   
sent his letter, his face had reflected such ugly bitterness and distaste   
as she had watched from the corner of the room. Of course, he had not   
shown that side of himself to the rest of the household, but underneath,   
she had no doubt he was as ruthless a man as Kollis.   
  
But still, no one asked him to help, did they. He chose to quite   
willingly. Serena could have screamed at herself, wishing she could just   
make up her mind how to feel for once. She had heard enough. Grabbing a   
sickle, she stalked away down the field, putting Darien and his endlessly   
confusing behaviour out of her mind.  
  
Serena was soon sweating again, working off her agitation in   
effort, until she was able to relax once again, and simply enjoy the   
sensation of being outside, in the bright sun with the coolness of the   
wind behind her.  
  
Pausing for a moment, she leant on the handle of her sickle,   
staring down at the cool earth. On impulse, she bent down and scooped up   
a handful of it, letting it slide between her fingers. Had Darien ever   
done this, she wondered? Had he ever truly gotten his hands dirty and   
known the great joy of working the earth to make something grow?  
  
Standing in the warm sun, Darien closed his eyes, a small sigh   
escaping his lips. It was mid morning now, and the carriage would soon be   
arriving.  
  
In the quiet of the moment, Darien's eyes drifted across the field,   
dimly aware that he was looking for Serena. He found her, back bent low   
and hands buried in the soil, her hair pulled into a tight knot though   
strands of it escaped. She reached up to brush them away, leaving a dirt   
smudge on her cheek. Darien felt his heart skip a beat, and unconsciously   
leaned against the wall, watching her, enraptured. She worked constantly   
with smooth motions and gentle hands, handling the soil as one might   
handle a bird - fragile, yet confident. And though the wind blew dust in   
her face and perspiration ran into her eyes, that glowing, gentle smile   
never left her lips.  
  
It occurred to him as he watched, that he had not yet made amends   
with her for the way he had treated her, running from their meeting at   
the markets, and worse yet, ignoring her last night when she had   
selflessly saved his life! He pushed himself away from the wall, intent   
on going to do so now... but then he had to stop himself. Now was neither   
the time nor place for such a discussion. Serena was busy at work, and in   
an open field, any privacy he might have hoped for would be eradicated.   
Besides which, he told himself, she looked happy here. For the first time   
in fifteen years, he could see her smile. That, in the end, was all he   
truly wanted for her. Since they had met in the palace days before, he   
had seen little but tears or anger on the girl's face. If she had found   
happiness here, working in the fields, he would not for all the world   
disturb her.  
  
But it did not go unnoticed by the Prince, that once he left today,   
he may never have reason to see her again. Could he live with that?   
  
Yes, he realised. With the knowledge that she was happy, he could.  
He could if he clung to this image here, of his bright angel under the   
golden sun, a righteous smile gracing her lips. Over the past few days it   
had become more obvious to him that they had little chance of ever   
regaining the friendship that youth had bestowed on them. If seeing her   
happy from a distance was all he could hope for, he would make do with   
that.  
  
Unbeknownst to the Prince, Serena's thoughts were not all of a   
joyful nature. It was pure delight for her to be back in a field, working   
the land as she had grown up doing. Her last few years in Ardonia had   
been particularly hard, because as well as her other hardships, she had   
been denied the simple pleasures of life outdoors, instead being confined   
in tight dresses and fancy rooms, with no hint of the natural world.  
  
But in the back of her mind, she was waging a silent war with   
herself. What was she to make of this Prince? Who was he really? His   
manner to everything around him seemed cold and distant, as if he found   
no joy anywhere in the world, and yet his actions could throw all her   
ideas of his arrogance and disdain to the wind. He would, at the most   
unexpected times, become compassionate and generous. She found herself   
longing for him to smile, for when he did, as infrequent as it was, it   
felt as if all the worries of the world were held at bay for that moment.   
How was it that this man, unmoved by a mountain of gold, could find joy   
in the antics of a naïve child playing by the fire? Or revel in the scent   
of a cold wind, as she had seen him do just that morning?  
  
She unthinkingly turned her face to the sky, looking for her   
wishing star, then felt very foolish. Of course, it was daylight. No   
stars would be out now. But she so wanted to see that star, and wish upon   
it that that image of freedom and joy she had glimpsed in him might be   
the true Darien, the reflection of the boy she had played with as a   
child, who had always kept her tucked safely under his wing, and always   
pulled her back to her feet when she fell. Friends forever... I wish...  
  
Drifting musingly from his thoughts of Serena, Darien realised that   
he had been staring at the ground for several minutes, and roughly pulled   
himself out of his reverie. A glance back at Serena found her in the same   
place as before, still working the ground with ease, and on impulse,   
Darien stepped forward to the edge of the field, trying for his own sake   
to understand the pleasure she found in her work. Gently, he reached down   
to the soil, grasping a handful with the intention of letting it run   
smoothly through his fingers, the soft dust heavy and cool.  
  
But as he lifted a handful, he stopped, and stared in wonder at his   
fingers. As the dew-damp soil crumbled to the ground, he felt not a   
simple handful of soil, but instead, felt as if each speck, each grain of   
dirt was pulsingly alive, each one trembling at his touch as if   
transformed by some magic. He could *feel* the earth, deep within   
himself, stroking at his core.  
  
A quick glance around told him that no one was watching, and so   
Darien crouched carefully beside the loose soil, and closing his eyes,   
buried his fingers deeply into the soft earth.  
  
Like a rush of wind through his mind, he felt it. *It* could hardly   
be defined, but at some level, he knew he recognised it. It was the   
*Earth*. Not quite a voice, not quite a feeling, it was more like a   
consciousness, flowing past and around and beneath his hand, and, he   
realised, connecting itself with a much larger stream, flowing around the   
entire Earth. It was like a huge river, he thought, and he was standing   
on the river bank watching it go by. But then suddenly, he realised with   
terror, he felt that whole river, rushing from the entire planet, turn.   
And as if he was staring at the onslaught of a tidal wave, the whole of   
the consciousness rushed *towards him*. With a jerk, he snatched his hand   
almost desperately from the soil as he lurched backwards.  
  
The sensation faded from his hands, but only seconds later, beneath   
his feet, he felt the same surge of energy. In a panic, he stumbled from   
the field, his breath coming hard and fast as he tried to run from that   
which by all reason could follow him *anywhere*. But by some sheer luck,   
he stumbled onto the concrete drive surrounding the house, and with a   
suddenness that took his breath away, the driving force ceased, fading   
into a background lull which niggled at his mind still, but without the   
urgency of moments before.  
  
Carriage wheels sounded in the background, and he looked up to see   
an entourage of royal personelle arriving in the yard. Gathering his wits   
as quickly as possible, he forced the strange occurrence to the back of   
his mind, and strode resolutely back to the house.  
  
Only one of the Mayers' servants had remained at the house to see   
the Royal party off, and Darien saw no need to disturb the rest of the   
family for his departure.  
  
But far down the field, Serena looked up for a moment, noticing the   
commotion at the house. Just in time to see Darien disappear into the   
carriage, she couldn't hold back the sigh that crept unbidden from her   
lips. A strange longing wished that he would turn, as he left, so she   
could see his face one last time. But he didn't, and she watched with a   
quivering lip as the tall proud man once again exited from her life.  
  
Inside the carriage, Darien stared darkly out the window, his eyes   
smouldering under the roguish scrape of raven hair. The dominating   
presence of - what ever that energy had been - was silent now, and yet he   
could still, in the back of his mind, detect the restrained and powerful   
yearning, that would inevitably, when he embraced it, overwhelm him.  
  



	5. Where the Path Divides

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 5  
Where the Path Divides  
  
  
Cocooned within the safety of the palace walls, a host of servants   
slept, stable hands, diplomats, accountants and advisers to the King, all   
dreamed peacefully, while the slow steps of the Guard patrolling the   
perimeter echoed with the great clocks keeping time.  
  
But beneath this apparent calm, ran a disturbing undercurrent of   
tension. The Earth was restless.  
  
Darien moaned in his sleep, his arms reaching up from the bed to   
clutch at some imagined assailant as he tossed and turned between the   
sheets.  
  
"Aaahh!" Darien jerked awake, stumbling from his bed as his feet   
uncertainly hit the floor. He stared at the rumbled bed in alarm, his   
hands running quickly through his hair as he took a deep, shuddering   
breath. But it was no nightmare, that would fade with the dawn, that had   
awakened him. Voices whispered through his dreams, unclear words and   
urgent pleas tugging at his conscience, hands had reached up out of the   
ground to catch him, great holes opened in the earth to swallow him...  
  
And now awake, he knew he would not find the silence that he hoped   
for, the quiet stillness that should surround any sleeping household.   
Instead, the same urgent whispers rose up out of the floor, it seemed,   
tugging at his heart... He collapsed to his knees in agony. The voices,   
he knew, belonged to the Earth. It had taken him little time to   
understand the summons he was being given - he was the Prince of the   
Earth, supposed ruler and protector of the great planet - and the Earth   
wanted him back.  
  
But how was he supposed to answer such a summons? He was terrified   
of losing his own identity, becoming a pawn of the Earth, a mere   
figurehead of its collective will. What of his own dreams and desires,   
his own will and feeling? The power he had tasted days before was   
unbelievably potent, he could remember all too clearly the feeling of it   
entering him, invading his body, reaching for his mind... And so he   
resisted the call, tried with all his power to deny the ache in his heart   
and block out the voices that had chosen him, above all people, to share   
themselves with.  
  
The Earth was restless. After generations of waiting, its one true   
master had finally made himself known, calling the planet awake, reaching   
down into its very core... and then, as quickly as he had demanded its   
attention, he had turned away. Why?  
  
The Earth was concerned. Had it been forsaken after so long, its   
importance forgotten by the people? It cried out to its master, longing   
for an answer, pleading to be told why it was denied.   
  
The Earth was lonely.  
  
Holding back a cry of frustration, Darien threw a dark cloak over   
his shoulders, protection against the chill of the night, and finally   
forced himself to slip out the side door of the palace, his booted feet   
soon becoming slick from the early morning dew. Yet even as he stood on   
the grass, gulping the night air into his lungs, he felt an easing of   
tension inside him. Eyes wide in the darkness, he peered down across the   
field, just making out the trees in the distance in the grey of the   
predawn light. Forcing back trepidation, he set off across the field,   
seeing, in his mind's eye, the creek just through the trees where he and   
Serena had waded as children...  
  
The grass stopped as the trees sprouted forth, the interior of the   
forest darker, but no more gloomy than the shadowy field. Darien stood on   
the bank of the creek for a long time, simply staring at the gentle   
water, the voices in his mind quiet for the moment.  
  
With a sigh, he rubbed his hand tiredly across his brow. He could   
not fight it any more. Days of torment had proven too much for him, and   
now, terrifying as it may be, he knew he had no choice. Eliza had been   
right - Prince of the Earth was not just a title. It was a position that   
held obligations, and if destiny had chosen him, so be it.  
  
Dropping to his knees beside the ancient stream, Darien fell   
forward, burying his fingers vehemently into the loose dirt. Come for   
me, then. Take what you want and be done with it, then give me back my   
peace.  
  
Less insistently, this time, came the reply to the call, but with   
no less force. Like a great spring gushing forth, the consciousness of   
the Earth ran to meet his fingertips in a collision of cold fire, pure   
energy fusing with his flesh as it swelled up from the Earth, aqua-tinted   
heat burning in his veins.   
  
And he took it all willingly, as, to his amazement, with the rush   
of power came a profound and unexpected sense of completion. As the Earth   
consciousness touched his mind, he found not that his own will was closed   
off from him, but rather that a whole new world had been opened up,   
intricate details of the planet laid out before him in glittering wonder.   
  
And suddenly, he understood. All the riddles that Eliza had been   
throwing at him of late, all the confusion, all the fear dissipated in a   
flash. The Earth would not swallow him, he realised now. He and it were   
separate beings, each with its own unique identity - and yet the two were   
intimately connected, symbiotically combined in a mutually vital   
alliance.  
  
Late into the morning, the Prince of the Earth slept. A heavy cloak   
lay discarded on the floor, the golden sun glinting off the grey stone   
outside his window, and within the room, the roguish yet strangely   
alluring boy lay peacefully in a deep slumber.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prince Kollis stood before his father's throne, a malicious smile   
twitching at his lips.   
  
Between him and the throne stood the Chief Royal Adviser, but   
beyond him, the empty throne sat beckoning, just waiting for him to seat   
himself in its velvet luxury...  
  
"Kollis, Prince of Ardonia. Kneel."  
  
Snapping his attention back to the Adviser, Kollis knelt on the   
thick red carpet. But his attention soon drifted back to the throne   
again. Soon he thought impatiently. So soon now.  
  
"Lords, Ladies. People of Ardonia. We have gathered here today for   
a momentous occasion. Though this is a day of sorrow, it is also a day of   
joy and of glory. Barely past the shadow of our beloved King's untimely   
death, our country is mourning and without a leader.   
  
"And so today we are here to bring to the throne the rightful heir,   
and only son of Ardonia, Prince Kollis." He stepped across to a table on   
the left of the throne, taking carefully the glittering, golden crown   
which rested there.   
  
"Kollis, Prince of Ardonia. As Chief of the Advisers to our late   
and beloved King, I hereby pass this most noble right and duty on to   
you." Standing before the kneeling Prince, the Adviser placed the crown   
slowly on his head, and stepped back.  
  
"Arise, Kollis. King of Ardonia."  
  
Not bothering to hide the greed in his eyes, Kollis stood, and   
stepped arrogantly up the three steps to the throne. Deliberately   
swirling his cape, he turned to face the waiting crowd, sweeping his gaze   
across them with an air of ultimate possession. The crowd visibly shrank   
under his gaze. Then he slowly sat into the throne, and as he did,   
everyone in the room knelt, acknowledging their new king.  
  
Close to the front of the room, a man named Chalin sighed   
inaudibly. He was a General in the Ardonian army, now directly under   
Kollis's command. He was also deeply familiar with Kollis's arrogance and   
greed. Still on bended knee, he glanced up at the king. Whatever gods   
are up there he thought in quiet fear, I hope you're listening, for we   
will need your help.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prince Darien was brooding. Not that this was a strange occurrence   
in itself - he had developed a reputation for being moody from the time   
he was twelve years old - but now, it was the timing of it that was odd.  
  
Everyone among the guard knew of his ill-tempered relationship with   
his father - so much so that they were all extremely well practiced at   
making a hasty exit from any given room by the shortest possible method -   
and so it seemed strange that now, when his father was out of the country   
and he therefore had the most freedom, the Prince would chose to bury   
himself in pensive thoughts.  
  
Malachite sighed to himself as he strode away down the corridor,   
leaving Darien to himself in his study, staring idly out the window   
though a stack of paperwork rested on his desk. He couldn't be sure, but   
he thought Darien had changed lately. The once quick temper seemed to   
have moderated somewhat, his stormy eyes had become more serious, his   
manner, though it had always been considerate, was now more thoughtful   
than before. But what could have brought about such a change? It was as   
if the stubbornly boyish young Prince was finally growing up.  
  
Could it be, Malachite thought suddenly, that the sudden appearance   
of Serena had something to do with it? Darien missed her, he knew, but   
somewhere in the past few days he seemed to have come to accept that she   
would remain absent from his life, ceasing his comments on the wellbeing   
of the young lady and allowing her interruption in his life to come to a   
gentle close. Was his change of temper due to this undoubtably difficult   
realisation?  
  
And yet somewhere in the back of his mind, Malachite worried over   
the Prince's wellbeing. Something was amiss...  
  
Darien stared motionless out the study window, barely noticing when   
his guard took his leave. So many strange thoughts were rushing around in   
his mind, and to his dismay, he had found his attempts at sorting them   
all out to be futile.   
  
Since the Earth had revealed itself to him, he had found a quiet   
peace in its voices, though he had little knowledge or experience in   
understanding what it was saying. He would listen for long moments,   
though, hoping that at some point he would begin to understand. This, it   
seemed, was the only stable feeling in his life at the moment.  
  
Again and again, his mind wandered back to Serena. He thought of   
her as she had been that day, smiling in the glowing field, and once   
again, the slow ache in his heart faded. He was right, he knew. He had to   
leave her alone. The assured peace he felt when thinking of her, so happy   
in her work on the farm, reinforced this idea each time it came up. And   
yet the instant he tried to put the decision to rest, the ache in his   
heart would flare to life again. More often than not, he would return to   
the Earth in these moments of distress, letting it's soothing murmur calm   
him, until his thoughts once again returned to the golden haired angel.  
  
Why did she fascinate him so? The woman was an enigma. Such a   
bizarre combination of strength and submission. She had a blazing fire of   
life within her; he had seen evidence of it more than once, when she had   
defiantly faced Kollis in their confrontation downstairs, her brazen and   
angry denial of their relationship despite the obvious truth of it, her   
attack on the cold-blooded gipsy. And yet at other times, she had   
literally cowered before him, as if terrified to admit that she had a   
soul at all.  
  
He closed his eyes in frustration. He longed for a distraction, but   
nothing seemed available to him. The one good thing, with his father out   
of the country, was that he was busier than usual ensuring the country   
ran smoothly.   
  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the study doors, and a servant came   
in, bowing deeply. "Your Majesty, a peasant has arrived at the palace and   
is requesting to speak with you." Darien's eyes opened wide, and the   
servant flinched as his surprised look. "I'm sorry to bother you, Your   
Majesty, but she was very specific, and would see no one else."  
  
"No, no that's fine," Darien interrupted. "I'll come down and see   
her." Could it be...? But then a frown creased his forehead. After the   
way Serena had behaved towards him, he admitted to himself, she was not   
likely to arrange a visit now.   
  
But even more unusual was the idea that it *wasn't* her. People did   
not usually come to the palace to see him - local magistrates were   
appointed to deal with minor matters of the law and larger problems were   
brought before the King by the magistrates, there was little other reason   
for people to venture to the palace except for personal visits, and if   
even nobility was too scared to visit royalty, he could hardly imagine   
that a peasant would take it upon themselves to arrange a neighbourly   
visit. So who could it be?  
  
He followed the servant downstairs, and was quite literally   
astonished when he saw who was waiting in the entrance hall.  
  
"Josephine!"  
  
The woman turned to him instantly, curtsying as well as her old   
figure would allow. "Am I disturbing you?" she asked, when she saw the   
shocked look on the Prince's face.   
  
"No, not at all," he replied quickly. "I, er... what can I do for   
you?" he asked, successfully covering the burst of joy he felt. After   
Serena, he realised, this would the person he most wanted to see.  
  
"I really came on a small matter. I'm merely inquiring after your   
health. I trust you have quite recovered from your excursion to our   
house?" she asked, humour glowing in her eyes though her mouth remained   
grim.   
  
Darien helplessly smiled. "Yes. It was really a minor incident. I'm   
completely well..."  
  
"The only reason I'm here," Josephine interrupted, "is that Serena   
has been tearing her hair out with worry over you."  
  
Darien stopped, suddenly speechless as a tiny smile crept over his   
lips. Josephine thought she saw a faint blush come over the Prince's   
cheeks. "Er, won't... won't you come into the parlour and have some tea?"   
he stuttered, abandoning his attempts to appear smooth and in control.   
Like Eliza, he realised, there was something about this woman he found he   
could trust.  
  
Josephine gave him a knowing look, and graciously walked ahead of   
him into the parlour.  
  
"Did Serena really send you all this way just to ask after me?"   
Darien asked, after the servant pouring the tea had left.  
  
The old woman nodded. "She didn't send me, as such, but she is the   
reason I'm here. She has worried constantly after you left, and I'm at my   
wits end to calm her."  
  
"She really has nothing to worry about," Darien told her. "Would   
you make sure she knows that for me?"  
  
Josephine nodded. "Of course. But while I'm here, Darien, there is   
something else I'd like to say." He nodded, and she continued, "Neither   
of us really got a chance to thank you, the first time we came here. I   
honestly didn't believe we were ever going to escape Kollis, and we are   
both more grateful for your help than you could ever know."  
  
Darien smiled. "I appreciate your gratitude, but I was merely doing   
what justice required." He paused. "How is Serena now?"  
  
A lightness came into Josephine's eyes as he asked the question,   
and a smile almost touched her lips, but faded before it quite reached   
them. "She's doing quite well, thankfully. The glow has returned to her   
face now, she was always so pale the last few years in Ardonia. But there   
is still something missing. She seems a little withdrawn, not as vibrant   
as she used to be. I keep telling her to go out and get some fresh air   
but she won't listen. She just sits in her room all day and stares out   
the window." She shook her head slowly. "I wanted something better than   
this for her," she admitted quietly. "Goodness knows she deserves it. But   
we all have to take what we're given, don't we."  
  
Darien nodded, his eyes sad as he held back a sigh. This was not   
what he had wanted to hear. He, too, felt Serena deserved more. His   
bright angel deserved all the happiness life could give. How was he to   
stand knowing she was unhappy, when he could barely live without her as   
it was?  
  
A sudden commotion in the hallway interrupted his thoughts. "Where   
the hell is he then?" Mars shouted.   
  
"He went to speak with a peasant woman, M'lady," a flustered   
servant replied. "I don't know where he is now..."  
  
The door to the parlour burst open, and a very red-faced Rei   
stormed in, followed quickly by the other three Senshi, and Darien's four   
guards. "Darien! Thank goodness... I just received a message from the   
villages in the outskirts of the western plains," she declared, fire   
flaring in her troubled eyes. "Kollis has declared war on Terranis!"   
  
Darien's jaw dropped as the news hit him like a landslide. Then   
Mars continued. "He has a force of three thousand troops, currently   
marching east across the western plains. He claims that his declaration   
of war is based on..." she consulted a rumpled script in her hand.   
"'Hostile actions performed by Terranis against Ardonia'. He is claiming   
territory from you on the grounds of acts of political discord."  
  
Darien was on his feet in outrage. "He what? There's been no   
hostility between us for years! What the hell does he think he's doing?"  
  
"Apparently, he thinks that your refusal of Serena's extradition   
interferes with the Ardonian justice system," she explained, a faint   
nervousness creeping into her blazing eyes. Rage from Darien was rare,   
but when it came, it was a terrifying sight.  
  
Darien stared at her, his voice taking on a cold quietness that,   
she knew, meant he was furious. "What the hell is the King doing letting   
Kollis run rampant across the planet?" he asked in controlled anger.  
  
Rei's eyes opened wide, as she remembered her other piece of news.   
"No, Darien. The King of Ardonia died a week ago. Now Kollis *is* the   
king."  
  
Darien froze in cold fear. In the back of his mind, he remembered   
the dull fact that his father was out of the country. His father, several   
days journey away across the sea, was the only one with any battle   
experience. As talented as he may have been, all the training in the   
world could not have prepared the young prince to go to war.  
  
His gaze wandered helplessly across the room, drifting, it seemed,   
until his eyes fell on the Senshi, all dressed in their warrior garb,   
awaiting his command...  
  
"Malachite," he heard himself say, while his eyes remained on the   
Senshi. "Gather the Defence Squadron. Have them ready to move out in half   
an hour."  
  
Malachite paled. "Sire, the Defence Squadron is a force of only 500   
men. We cannot possibly fight an army of 3000."  
  
Darien turned to him, his face expressionless, and the guard shrank   
back, appalled at his own impertinence. "I am aware of that, Malachite.   
Have them ready to move in half an hour."   
  
Malachite hesitantly bowed. "Yes, Sir."   
  
"Zoisite, go with him." The blond-haired guard bowed, and followed   
Malachite out of the room.  
  
"Nephrite, call the rest of the Guard together. I want them armed   
and prepared in fifteen minutes. And Jadeite, go down to the stables and   
see that mine and the Senshi's horses are prepared immediately." The two   
guards bowed, and strode quickly away.  
  
"Now," he continued, turning his gaze back to the four powerful   
women; Rei, her violet eyes flaming; Ami, her former meekness thrown off   
as she stood tall and proud; Mina, beautiful in her composed fierceness   
and Lita, wisdom glowing in her hot-tempered eyes. "I want to talk with   
you. In private."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Forgotten in her chair, Josephine stared in wonder as Darien   
masterfully gathered his forces, overcoming their doubts and commanding   
obedience with swift surety. He certainly was a skilled leader - she   
could easily understand why he had so many loyal followers.  
  
She stayed where she was, avoiding any attention until the now   
agitated crowd had left the room, then she slowly rose, her stiff body   
protesting lightly, and shuffled from the room. Acts of political   
discord indeed. That Kollis would attack someone for standing on his   
foot!  
  
Putting the unpleasant thoughts from her mind for the moment, she   
let herself out the wide front doors, and quietly requested her horse   
from the guards there. Well I just hope Darien can do some damage before   
he comes home she thought bitterly, as she headed out the palace gates.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Josephine!" Serena flew out the front door the moment she saw the   
hunched figure coming down the road, and graciously held the horse while   
Josephine dismounted. "Well? How did it go? How is he? Is he all right?"  
  
Josephine hesitated. "His injuries are fine," she replied,   
circumspectly. She didn't want to mention the trouble with Ardonia,   
knowing it would be a sore point for the troubled young woman.  
  
But Serena had picked up her hesitation, and her heart sank. "He's   
not all right, is he. Is he angry with me?" she asked, her eyes fearful.   
No matter how she felt about the Prince on a personal level, she had no   
wish to make an enemy of him. She had been through the agony of that once   
too often...  
  
"No, no he's not the least bit angry with you," Josephine replied   
vehemently.  
  
"Then what's wrong," Serena asked.  
  
"Well, I... he's..." Josephine sighed. Experience told her that   
Serena would get the news from her one way or another, so she decided   
simply to avoid the inevitable argument. "He has some political problems   
right now, that's all."  
  
"What kind of problems?" Serena shot back in a flash.  
  
"Ardonia has declared war on Terranis. Kollis is moving his forces   
across the Western Plains."  
  
Serena's jaw dropped. "Kollis is... War? No! He's crazy? Why is he   
doing it?"  
  
This, Josephine would have refused to answer, but before she spoke   
a word, Serena had figured it out for herself. "It's because of me, isn't   
it. It's because I ran away from him."  
  
"No, child!" Josephine grabbed her shoulders. "This is nothing to   
do with you! You can't blame yourself!"  
  
"But... but I made Darien refuse Kollis... I should never have..."   
She was close to tears. Then an idea occurred to her. It was a long shot   
but... "I have to go," she stated simply, hurrying back into the house to   
throw a cloak around her shoulders.  
  
"Go?" Josephine looked at her like she was mad. "Go where, child?"  
  
"I have to stop him." Josephine's eyes opened wide in outrage, but   
when she tried to interrupt, Serena would not let her. "He wanted me,   
Josephine. Just me. Prince Darien should never have been mixed up in   
this. I can't let people die just because of my mistakes."  
  
"Serena!" Josephine grabbed her wrist, shaking her to make her   
listen. "If you go back, he will kill you!"  
  
The girl nodded, tears spilling from her pale eyes. "I know,   
Josephine." Breaking free, she ran to the horse, still standing in the   
yard.  
  
"Wait child! You don't even know where you're going!"  
  
Serena turned and shook her head. "You said the Western Plains,   
right? How hard can it be to find an army?" Then she leapt onto the   
horse, and galloped away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darien paced in front of the lines of troops, all bold young men   
ready to die at one word from him... the thought scared him even more   
than the fact that they would never actually need to lift a sword - this   
battle would be over before it had begun. A glance across to the Senshi   
had him trembling once again at the thought of it.  
  
Looking up to the battlefield, Darien saw, over the far side,   
Kollis mounting his horse, and four generals joining him as they began to   
make their way down the field. Darien called for his own horse, the   
Senshi also getting prepared as they saw him.  
  
It was an old tradition - before any battle, the leaders of the   
respective armies would meet in the middle of the battlefield for last   
minute diplomatic talks - to try and avoid the need to go to war if at   
all possible. Both honour and pride demanded the tradition be observed.   
Today however, Darien thought, would be very, very different...  
  
His horse was brought to him immediately, but he had just taken   
hold of its reins when a shout snapped his attention down to the   
battleground.   
  
"Right flank! Rider on the field!"  
  
He looked down in horror, seeing there was indeed a lone rider   
charging the field, with flagrant disregard for any military discipline.   
No one ever attacked before the order was given... but in a rush, he   
noted the flash of blond hair flying behind the slight figure.   
  
In an instant, he was on his horse, plunging down the slope to   
intercept this rogue rider...  
  
"What the...?" Mercury was too stunned to finish the exclaimation,   
as she saw the small horse galloping onto the field. Her own horse in   
hand, she was mounted and ready in an instant, shouting at the other   
Senshi to follow quickly. But before she had even left her place, she saw   
Darien flying down the field, his black cloak soaring behind him as his   
horse wheeled in front of the interloper. The vagrant horse shied, and   
twisted as it came to a sudden halt, sending its rider tumbling onto the   
dirt.  
  
"Come on," she snapped at the other Senshi. "We've got to get down   
there."  
  
Pulse racing, Darien leapt from his horse, striding angrily over to   
where the girl now sat, slightly dishevelled, on the ground. "Serena!"   
Serena flinched as she heard the anger in his voice. "What the hell do   
you think you're doing here?"  
  
She looked up, cringing as the tall man stood over her. "I... I   
wanted to help?"   
  
He reached down and took her hand, pulling her forcefully to her   
feet. "You wanted to help?!" The anger faded, replaced with disbelief.   
"Serena, we're about to go to war! Don't you know what that means?"  
  
"I... I... But this is my fault! I thought... I thought maybe I   
could stop him, stop this..." Tears fell as her knees trembled, and she   
fell roughly into his arms, twisting her neck to look up at him. "I know   
I'm the one who made Kollis angry," she acknowledged helplessly, as   
Darien's arms came around her. "I don't want you to start a war over me."  
  
"So you thought you could buy him off with yourself?" Darien   
finished for her, rubbing her shoulder absentmindedly. He was astounded.   
Never in his life had he witnessed such a selfless act as this. But even   
so, it would do no good. He shook his head, aware that in the corner of   
his eyes, he could see Kollis galloping down across the field.  
  
"Serena, I'm sorry," he told her urgently. "But this has gone far   
beyond anything you might have caused. Kollis was only looking for an   
excuse. This would have happened sooner or later anyway. It's no longer   
anything to do with you."  
  
"But there must be something I can..."  
  
"No, Serena!" His eyes were once again fierce as he pushed her   
away. "There's nothing. Let me handle this now."   
  
"Darien!"  
  
He spun on his heal, facing the angry King who now dismounted his   
horse and came to stand before him. Behind him, he heard hoofbeats, and   
knew the Senshi were coming to support him. His pulse was racing, his   
face flushed, his stomach churned at the thought of what was to come...  
  
"What the hell...?" Kollis snapped indignantly, having seen just who   
the rogue rider had been. "You?" he sneered at Serena. "You've got a   
nerve, showing up here."   
  
But before he could get any further, Darien had stepped between the   
seathing King, and the shaking, defiant girl. "Serena has nothing to do   
with this. Now you and I have some business to attend to."  
  
Kollis looked Serena over with a long, blantantly malicious glance,   
and she shuddered with the knowledge of what was in store for her if by   
some scant luck Kollis was to win this battle. She wrapped her arms   
nervously around herself, and backed away from the two men.  
  
Darien looked his opponent over shrewdly. "Let's dispense with the   
formalities, Kollis. I'm not here to negotiate."  
  
Though he tried to hide it, Kollis was surprised. Though he himself   
had had no notion of compromising, he had not expected Darien to be as   
ruthless. "Oh? Then what, may I ask, is to be done?" he asked, his   
cynicism obvious.  
  
Darien narrowed his eyes. "You have a choice. You can leave my   
country now, with your army, and do not return. I will not stop you   
leaving."  
  
Kollis raised one impertinant eyebrow. "And the other choice?"  
  
"I will rip your world from under you." Again, the coldness of it   
surprised Kollis, but he recovered quickly. He could see from here that   
Darien's army was paltry in comparision to his own. There could be no   
real threat there, and it was laughable that Darien try to intimidate   
him. Indeed, he found himself laughing in Darien's face, though the   
Prince remained calm and still. "I think I'll take the second option   
then," Kollis told him, signalling his four generals to leave. But before   
they had moved, Darien's voice interrupted them. "So be it."  
  
From where they stood behind him, the Senshi now stepped forward,   
Lita taking her position first beside the Prince. She had been more than   
a little stunned this afternoon, when Darien had pulled the warriors   
aside and explained to them his plan. They were to attack at his signal,   
he had told them, but even they weren't sure what Darien intended to do   
after their display of power had been completed. He had asked them simply   
to trust him, and as he was now acting King, they had done so.  
  
"Jupiter thunder..." she could see the confusion on the generals   
faces as she shouted the words of her attack. Surely they could have no   
idea of what they were about to witness...  
  
"CRASH!"  
  
Furious white lightening burst from the air, crackling violently in   
the ears of all who watched. It scattered across the battlefield,   
scorching the ground and obliterating grass and trees as it went.  
  
"Mars fire... IGNITE!"  
  
Fire burst forth, seering the places the lighting had not touched   
and rendering the ground a barren, ashen pan. Flame danced around Kollis   
and his generals as they backed away, eyes wide as they saw the blackened   
field.  
  
"Venus crescent beam... SMASH!"  
  
Again the Earth shock with the force of the blow, sending Kollis   
stumbling to his knees. His eyes were wide as he stared at the ferocious,   
power-wielding women. "You... You will not win this Darien!" he cried,   
fear making his voice shrill. He turned and scrambled to his feet,   
screaming the command to attack to his army. Like a giant wave, the sea   
of men surged onto the field, battle cries swelling to a near din.  
  
Darien stood calmly, watching them come. "Mercury?" He turned to   
the blue-haired Senshi.   
  
She nodded. "Mercury bubbles... BLAST!"  
  
Thick, suffocating fog at once shrouded the entire field,   
blanketing the distant battle cries, covering the entire place with a   
cold and eerie silence. In the centre of the field, only a small patch of   
ground remained clear, the two monarchs facing each other, their four   
warriors standing expectantly behind them, and the forgotten peasant girl   
standing at the edge of it all.  
  
Kollis stared at Darien in terror. "What... what have you done?"  
  
"Two armies that cannot see each other," Darien said carefully,   
"cannot possibly fight each other. I warned you that you could not win   
this, Kollis. And now I ask you again. Will you leave my country?"  
  
Kollis shook his head.  
  
"This little demonstration was just a hint of the power at my   
command." Darien's eyes glowed black as he stared at the defiant King.   
"Do you really think any of your men will try to fight against it?" He   
could see the doubt in the four generals eyes. They would, he was sure,   
have run away by now, but in the stiffling fog, they had no idea which   
way to go.  
  
But Kollis was still denying him. "Those four women did this, not   
you!" he shouted, not quite daring to look at the four seething warriors.   
"You've got nothing! You're just a puppet to them! I'll make sure   
everyone knows it!"  
  
Standing behind the Prince, Mars perked up suddenly. Like the rest   
of the Senshi, she had been wondering what on earth Darien planned to do   
now. Despite their immense powers, she knew none of the Senshi would be   
willing to torch an entire army on a whim. But now she found herself   
wondering... the power of the Earth, like the power of the Senshi, had   
fallen silent some five generations ago, the stories of it now hidden in   
folk-lore. Only herself, her mother, and the other Senshi, past and   
present, knew of the truth behind the tales. Darien, she knew,   
potentially held more power than all the Senshi combined. Could the   
Prince of the Earth have been re-awakened at last? Was that how he had   
discovered the carefully guarded secret of the Senshi's power? And if so,   
what on Earth did he plan to do with that power?  
  
"So that is your final decision?" Darien asked quietly. He was, in   
truth, terrified of what might happen next. After uncovering the truth   
behind his position, he had delved into the ancient libraries of the   
palace, reading again the old legends of the Earth power, of past Kings   
and forgotten battles, in a new light now that he knew they were true.   
But still, what he proposed to do next was only possible in theory. He   
had never tried it in practice. What if it didn't work? What if it did   
work and he lost control of it? There were so many possibilities...  
  
"Yes," Kollis hissed. "I'll see your power stripped from you like   
bark from a tree."  
  
Darien's eyes closed briefly. He had no choice... "Power and   
strength never came from the ability to destroy." He spoke thoughtfully,   
as if to himself. "Anyone, from the weakest peasant to the worst of   
tyrants can destroy. Power, Kollis, the power that gives us the right to   
rule, comes from the ability to give life, not to take it away."  
  
He turned once again to the Senshi of Water. "Mercury? If you   
please?"  
  
With a gesture, the fog cleared, the field once again plain to   
view. And a shocking sight it was. Not one blade of grass, not one flower   
was left to grace the black and smoking ground.  
  
And slowly, gently, Darien knelt down, burying his fingers into the   
ashen soil. He closed his eyes, and once again let his thoughts return to   
the Earth. With purpose and clarity, he felt the energy of the Earth rise   
up under his fingertips. Like a glittering wave of fire, he let that   
energy spread from his hand, all the way across the field. And with an   
assured authority, he commanded it up, out of the Earth and into the   
roots of the grasses, into the seeds lying buried in the soil, into the   
new shoots as they grew, the buds, the newly opening flowers, until, when   
he again opened his eyes, the field was restored, fresh green grass and   
scattered wildflowers growing anew, even while the smoke of the   
destruction cleared.  
  
To the observers, it seemed as if a guyser had opened in the Earth   
itself. Energy glittered in silver waves, covering over the entire field,   
and under the dazed stare of two armies, green grass came bursting forth,   
first from the ground around the kneeling prince's hand, and gradually   
spreading to the farthest corners of the field.  
  
With life once again restored to the ground, Darien gently relaxed   
his hold on the Earth, and felt a surge of relief when the powerful rush   
beneath him slowed, and came to a halt.   
  
Finally, Darien rose to his feet, his piercing blue eyes peaceful   
for the first time in weeks. Behind him, all four Senshi had dropped to   
their knees in awe, heads bowed in respect to the Prince.   
  
And it was this that caught General Chalin's attention. He had felt   
unending dread in the past few minutes, as Kollis had denied the power   
this young Prince undeniably held. He had waited in horror for the dark-  
haired man to strike them all dead. And he had watched in disbelief as an   
army was called forth to die under the rule of a madman. Slowly, the   
trembling General raised his eyes to look into Darien's. Then he bowed   
his head, fell to one knee before the Prince of the Earth, and declared,   
"Your Majesty. Thee I serve."  
  
For a stunned moment, Darien stared at him in shock. This, he had   
not expected. Then, with shaking voices and pounding hearts, the other   
three generals of Kollis' army also knelt before him, pledging their   
loyalty to the Prince of the Earth.  
  
"Darien?" He turned at the harsh whisper from Mars, somewhat   
surprised to see the Senshi also kneeling. "Look." She pointed up the   
hill, to where Kollis' army had stood when the fog covered them. As he   
watched, the entire army fell to its knees, proud Ardonian flags lowered   
and shields bearing the Ardonian Coat of Arms placed on the ground.   
  
Then Darien turned to glance back up the hill to his own forces.   
They, too, offered him their humble respect, as a further 500 men knelt   
in the new grass.  
  
Darien would, perhaps, have stood there all day in dazed wonder, if   
not for Kollis's outraged exclamation.  
  
"No! How dare you! I am your KING! This is treason! I'll have you   
shot for this." His eyes were hot and fevered as he turned on his   
generals, his face colouring an ever brighter red.  
  
"Kollis," Darien spoke softly, his head slightly bowed. "A King is   
nothing without the respect, without the love of his people. You should   
have lived for them, Kollis. Not they for you."  
  
Kollis' wild, disturbed gaze swung round to Darien. "Damn you!" he   
muttered, shaking his head slowly. "You humiliated me once before, I will   
not let you do it again. I will see you dead!"  
  
Grabbing a knife from his side, the enraged man flew towards the   
unprepared Prince, murder burning in his eyes.  
  
Mars surged forward to stop the attack, but from her stance on her   
knees, she knew she was too slow...   
  
Then a swift blur brushed her side. "NO!" For the second time in   
her life, Serena threw herself between the Prince and his assailant.   
The sword, this time snatched from Mars' hands, came up between her   
and her enemy, and no thoughts passed through her mind this time, as her   
hands moved of their own will, burying the silver blade in Kollis' angry   
flesh.  
  
Kollis stared at her, pure shock in his eyes as he regarded the   
sword protruding from his chest. Numbly, he raised his hand, trying to   
bring the knife to his defence, but the blade slipped from his grip. He   
looked back up at this girl, the slip of a creature who had none the less   
wrought such destruction and chaos in his life, and for the first time,   
his eyes showed his fear.  
  
"Everyone I have ever loved," Serena bit out, tears spilling from   
her crystalline eyes, "has suffered because of YOU!" Darien heard plainly   
the anguish in her voice, and knew she took no pleasure in her actions.   
Instead, there seemed a subtle sorrow, as she slid the sword from his   
chest. If it was possible, she seemed to pity the ruthless man, her eyes   
almost apologetic, watching in silence as Kollis slid to the ground, his   
hot crimson blood spilling forth - a wound to the fresh new grass.   
  



	6. Choosing a Path

From Beyond the Window  
by Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
company/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 6  
Choosing a Path  
  
Darien stared mutely at the leaf-covered road ahead, paying no   
attention to the waves of forest around him. The leather of his   
saddle creaked gently, and the thud of the horses' hooves was muffled   
in the soft ground. He glanced up at the girl, riding slightly ahead   
of him, her head hung in apparent shame as she, too, stared at the   
ground.   
  
Serena His gaze wandered from her smooth, pale cheeks, down   
the loose braid of her hair, over her faded pants to her dull boots.   
She is so beautiful. He sighed.  
  
Serena glanced sideways as she heard the Prince sigh, but he   
was slightly beyond her view, and she didn't dare turn around to face   
him. All she could catch a glimpse of were his boots. Black boots,   
polished and shiny despite the recent battle.  
  
Polished and shiny.   
  
His whole life had seemed that way to her - living in a gilded   
palace with endless items of finery draped around him, and frequent   
balls to entertain the arrogant sense of style she had imagined he   
kept. But with a harsh self-chiding, she realised that her   
imagination was all it had been.  
  
Today she had seen a very different side to Darien. No, she   
admonished herself again. It was the same side to him she had always   
seen. She had just never acknowledged it before. She understood,   
quite clearly now, how deeply Darien cared for his people. He was   
powerful - no one could deny that - but he used that power to ensure   
the utmost peace and security for the people he led, and indeed for   
the people most immediately around him. Even the servants who waited   
on him each day received his personal attention and consideration. He   
had said, in his own words, that he ruled his people to serve them,   
not to be served. She had been harsh in her judgements of him, and   
she now longed to resolve the conflicts she had aroused, both within   
herself, and with Darien. She just didn't know how to begin.  
  
Unknown to her, Darien was experiencing very similar thoughts.   
He wanted more than anything to make sure Serena was not hurt, or   
suffering any anguish from her rash actions today. He wanted to make   
peace with her, and have her accept him as a friend. He wanted to   
talk about their childhood, and tell her once again that the future   
would be all right. He was not, he realised, willing to let her go   
now. Her bravery and courage had shown her to be exactly the sought   
of woman he could love - indeed he found himself wondering if perhaps   
he did already love her - her faded dress and pale skin, and the   
demure elegance of simplicity that meant he just couldn't keep his   
eyes on the road. By gods, she was beautiful!   
  
But she had rebuffed him too many times, made it too clear that   
she wanted nothing to do with him. And now that he had revealed how   
much power he truly held, she was sure to hate him all the more for   
it. How, he wondered, was it possible to fall in love with a woman   
who wouldn't even speak to him?  
  
In the midst of his admiration for her, his mind wandered back   
to the so recently ended battle. His shock, after she had dauntlessly   
slain Kollis, had been absolute. Kollis's death did not disturb him   
in the least - had Serena not killed him, Mars, or Jupiter, he was   
sure, would have done it instead. He had stared in awe as the slight   
girl had daringly opposed the enraged King, and in doing so had saved   
his life for the second time.  
  
~~Flashback~~  
The sword slid from Kollis's chest slickly, as his wet blood   
began to run. Serena's hands trembled as she lowered the suddenly   
heavy blade to the ground, its handle slipping from her fingers and   
landing with a thump. The silence on the field, but for the distant   
call of a few small birds, became eerie after a time, as still no one   
moved, shocked by this all too sudden turn of events.   
  
Mars was the first to move, finally, rising gracefully to her   
feet, and placing a tempered hand on the stunned Prince's shoulder.  
"Darien? Darien, listen."  
  
He turned, his face white, but a hint of comprehension coming   
back into his startling eyes.  
  
"I think it's time we got these two armies back where they   
belong," Mars prompted gently. Darien nodded, and by some unspoken   
consensus, the rest of the generals and Senshi rose to their feet.   
Darien turned to the blond haired general, the first one who had   
kneeled to him, and so had, in some unintentional way, initiated this   
last, curious turn of events.  
  
"I owe you my gratitude, General..."  
  
"Chalin, Sire." The man bowed.  
  
"Chalin. I trust that the Ardonian army will be safe in your   
hands for now?" His voice was soft, as he slowly came out of his   
stunned daze.  
  
"Yes Sire. Ardonia is, and will remain, under your command,   
Sire."  
  
"See that they return to Ardonia promptly. I'll send word in a   
few days to tell you what my plans for you will be. One of my   
ambassadors will join you before you leave."  
  
"Yes Sire." Chalin bowed one last time, and with the other   
generals, mounted their horses to return to their troops.  
  
"Mars," he continued, turned back to his own guards. "See that   
my army gets home safely, will you?"  
  
Mars regarded the suddenly tired-looking man, and nodded   
warmly. "As you wish, Sire."  
  
With a nod, the rest of the Senshi also followed Mars up the   
hill, only Darien remaining by the side of the slumped peasant girl.   
The fallen King lay still on the ground, his spilt blood cooling in   
the grass.  
  
Serena felt a strange numbness as she watched the lifeless man.   
There was no regret, and yet at the same time no relief at the fact   
of his death. Never had she dreamed she would be responsible for the   
death of another human being, but the sheer horror that this man had   
been soothed the otherwise shocking truth of it. And yet as she   
became aware of Prince Darien standing over her, a cold dread filled   
her. Surely she would not escape his wrath this time. If not for   
inciting this battle in the first place, which she was sure she had   
done despite his protests, it would be for the honourless slaying of   
a King that she was punished. She thought dimly of the prison camps   
that criminals were sent to, damp, hostile places...  
  
"Serena."  
  
Serena flinched at his voice, her heart pounding. But yet   
again, for perhaps the sixth time in only a few short weeks, the   
strangely compassionate Prince succeeded in stunning her. "Come on,   
Serena," he commanded quietly. "I'll take you home." Placing an arm   
about her tender shoulders, he turned her gently from the grizzly   
sight, making no move to do anything about either the pale body, or   
the blood stained sword which lay beside it.  
  
And so it was, that now, perhaps an hour later, he was   
escorting the tired girl home. Neither had spoken a word since they   
had left the battlefield, and so it might have remained indefinitely,   
but for Darien's wandering mind. 'If you wish to heal this   
friendship,' Eliza had told him days before, 'it will be up to you to   
take the steps for it...' So be it, he thought pensively.  
  
"Serena?" She turned in surprise, and he urged his horse   
forward to come abreast with hers. "Serena, I... I'd like to talk, if   
that's okay?"  
  
Serena repressed a shudder. She had known this would come, of   
course. He was bound to want an explanation sooner or later...  
  
"Please, Serena, can you tell me... I don't know what I did to   
earn such hostility from you. But believe me when I say I don't want   
it to continue. Please tell me, Serena, why do you fear me?"  
  
There it was, out in the open. Serena was at a complete loss.   
Never had she expected such honesty from him, so much so that she was   
left speechless as she fought back sudden tears of regret. "Nothing."   
It came as a whisper, leaving Darien, too, at a loss. He saw the   
tears, heard the anguish in her voice, and felt a surge of frustrated   
pain. She would not tell him, he realised. Whatever it was, it must   
have carved too deep a scar for simple healing.   
  
But he would not give up. "Serena, please?" He reached out to   
catch her hand. "Whatever I've done..."  
  
"You haven't done anything." She didn't look at him. "None of   
it was your fault, really. I just... I've got so many things wrong...   
None of it was your fault."  
  
"Then why?" he pressed gently. "What happened to make you so   
defensive? Serena, I promise, I'm not going to hurt you," he   
continued when she didn't reply.  
  
She looked up at him then, her wide eyes suddenly very   
innocent. "I know you're not," she replied with outright honesty.   
"You'd never hurt me. You promised me that when we were children."   
  
Despite the worry in his eyes, Darien smiled. "Yes, I did,   
didn't I." He thought of that day, at the end of the garden, when two   
naïve children had pledged their loyalty to each other...  
  
"I... a lot of things... have changed me since we were   
children," Serena began slowly. "It began the day we left for   
Ardonia. My mother was constantly filling me with stories of how   
royalty was... You know the reasons my mother left, don't you?" she   
interrupted herself.  
  
Darien nodded. "Yes, I've heard about it. I know what   
happened."  
  
"She was always telling me how polluted and disloyal royalty   
was. She said the money and the power got to people in the end and   
they became completely immoral. It took me a long, long time to find   
out why she thought the way she did, but at first I just believed   
her. I didn't know any different.  
  
"I didn't want to go to Ardonia. I hated it there and Mother   
always told me it was the King of Terranis who had made us go there,   
so I started hating him as well."  
  
"Why didn't you like Ardonia?" Darien interrupted.  
Serena sighed. "It was... life was very hard for me there. My   
mother got a job on a farming estate. There were lots of other   
children there, but I never made any friends. All I could ever   
remember doing was playing in the mud with boys, and having sword   
fights with the girls I used to play with. I didn't want to dress in   
frilly clothes and sit around having tea parties. Everyone thought I   
was very strange..."  
  
Darien smiled suddenly. "The girls you used to play with," he   
told her, amused. "They would have been the Sailor Senshi."  
  
Serena's jaw dropped. "You mean... You mean those four women   
who just blew up a field used to be my friends?"  
  
Darien nodded. "Don't you remember them at all?"  
  
"No. I was only four, after all. I could never really remember   
the faces of the children I had played with here. I couldn't even   
remember their names! That's why I didn't know it was you, that first   
day... I didn't know." She paused, a faint flush of shame colouring   
her cheeks, before she continued, "Since I didn't have many friends,   
I spent most of my time alone. Things didn't change much as I grew   
up, then Mother met Alfred - he was the cousin of an Earl, with a   
large sum of money behind him - and Mother decided it would be best   
for both of us if they married.   
  
"We moved to his estate, but even after that nothing changed.   
The servants thought it was cute that a girl wanted to do boys'   
things, and they humoured me, teaching me bits of fencing and horse   
riding. Alfred caught them teaching me one day, and he took over it   
for a while. He taught me to practice until I was good, to practice   
for days and never give up."  
  
She stopped for a moment, and flushed, looking vaguely guilty   
about something. Darien found the effect heart-wrenchingly charming,   
until... "I found out there was a military trailing centre near our   
house. I used to sneak into it late in the afternoon and watch the   
soldiers training. I tried to memorise what they were doing and then   
went and practiced it. It wasn't hard to find a quiet place to go,   
where no one would find me. No one ever missed me...  
  
"When I was about fourteen, Mother started telling me how   
beautiful I was becoming. I didn't know what she meant. No boys had   
ever looked at me. No one would look at a girl dressed in boys   
clothes and covered in mud. When I turned sixteen, she told me I had   
to find a husband. She said with my looks I would easily be able to   
make a 'good catch'.  
  
"She started making me dress like a girl, for once, and taking   
me to her social parties where all the women sat around gossiping and   
sipping tea. The first time she got very angry with me, because I   
held the cup the wrong way!" Serena shook her head in frustration.   
"Whenever men saw me in a dress, they all became unbearably   
patronising. They treated me like a paper doll, like I couldn't think   
for myself. Mother told me I had to bat my eyelashes and smile at them   
in just that certain way to get them interested in me, then it would   
be just a choice of which one would make the best husband. What she   
really meant was which one was the richest. I couldn't think of   
anything more disgusting than marrying one of those arrogant, selfish,   
patronising bastards."  
  
She stopped talking suddenly, and Darien could see that she was   
fighting back anger. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then   
continued in a slightly quieter voice, "I learned very quickly how to   
get rid of unwanted attention. It's not hard if you know how. Men   
never mattered much to me until..." she swallowed hard, and Darien   
looked at her in concern, but she didn't notice his gaze, preoccupied   
with staring at the road. "...until the night of the Palace ball.   
Because Alfred's cousin was an Earl, that meant we got invited too,   
being related to nobility, and Mother decided I was going to go, no   
matter how much I protested.  
  
"I'd never been to a ball before. Mother was determined I was   
going to find myself a husband that night, and she wedged me into   
some awful green dress with frills everywhere... it looked like I was   
wearing a shrub!  
  
"The ball room was awfully stifling, all too hot and with no   
room to breath. Dozens of men kept pestering me to dance with them."   
She laughed bitterly all of a sudden. "Perhaps I should have   
accepted. It would have saved me a lot of trouble later..." Darien   
couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw tears in her eyes.  
  
"I got sick of all the attention in the end, and I went out   
onto the balcony to get some air and avoid everyone for a while. But   
I wasn't the only one out there. Kollis was there as well.  
  
"I never wanted to talk to him at all. I agreed with my mother   
about royalty by then... I thought if nobility could be as snobbish   
as they were, royalty could only be worse. I tried to avoid him, but   
he saw me, and came to talk to me. I thought I could get rid of him   
like I did with everyone else..." She shuddered, and the tears fell.  
  
"Serena..." Darien reached out to take her hand. She looked up   
at him in surprise, smiling gratitude through the tears.   
  
"I didn't realise how wrong I was. He asked me to dance, and I   
said no. That made him angry instantly, and he dragged me back inside   
and forced me to dance with him..."  
  
Serena shuddered at the memory of being in his arms, the feel   
of his breath down her neck, the lecherous gall that meant he thought   
he had the right to kiss her neck... It had gone on for an hour at   
least. He had mocked her for her attempts at refusing him. There were   
penalties for disobeying royalty, he had reminded her.  
  
In the end she had begged him to let her go, saying she felt   
dizzy and needed some air... She had learnt quickly that if a woman   
feigned weakness, men would instantly give in to her. It worked this   
time too, and Kollis had agreed, leading her out onto the balcony   
again. But once out of view of the ball room, his intentions changed   
at once. He had forced her up against the railing, pressing himself   
against her, pulling her head back and forcibly kissing her, with no   
care or finesse, she had almost gagged at the feel of his vile tongue   
invading her mouth...  
  
Serena realised Darien was staring at her suddenly, and that   
she had been silent for a while. She saw the deep concern and gentle   
compassion on his face, and her heart skipped a beat. No man had ever   
looked at her like that before.  
  
She forced a weak smile, then found it was actually quite easy   
to smile at him. He squeezed her hand, and nodded, asking her to   
continue.  
  
"Kollis harassed me all night. He wouldn't let me out of his   
sight, he wouldn't let me forget how wrong it was to refuse him. I   
had to dance with him dozens of times, he wouldn't let any other man   
come near me.  
  
"At the end of the ball, he cornered me at the edge of the room   
and... and offered me a proposal..."  
  
Darien looked up sharply. Kollis had, himself, told him that he   
has offered to make Serena his wife. Could it have been true...?   
Darien hadn't thought Kollis would have been so decent to any   
woman...  
  
But Serena laughed at his surprised look, acidity edging her   
voice. "No, not that type of proposal." She shook her head, the pain   
evident on her pale face. "Not marriage." She bit her lip, searching   
for the strength to continue, until she blurted out, "He proposed I   
spend the night in his bed."  
  
Had Kollis not already been dead, Darien would have turned back   
that instant to kill him, so intense was the flash of white fury he   
felt.  
  
Serena duly noted the anger on his face - a look she had   
experienced far too often - and instinctively searched her words for   
anything she might have said to offend him. Until she remembered,   
somewhat to her chagrin, that this was not the arrogant Prince she   
had so fervently believed in, but a kind and caring man, and she   
understood suddenly why he was angry.  
  
"Nothing happened," she told him forcefully. "My step-father   
came to call me home, and Kollis wouldn't risk his pride by demanding   
that I stay. Even if he was a Prince, it was my father's right to   
decide what man I was to be with..." She flushed bright pink.  
  
"I thought that would be the end of it. I didn't expect to ever   
see Kollis again. Royal balls weren't frequent, and I knew how to   
stay out of the way when I wanted to. But Kollis was relentless. He   
was suddenly turning up everywhere I went, at the markets, at dinners   
we went to, he even came past our house a couple of times.  
  
"I wouldn't give into him. I learned to be just as devious as   
he was. It worked for a while, but he would always be back. Alfred   
and my mother didn't help. Mother had decided it was time I stated   
dressing like a woman, instead of a boy, and I was always being   
forced into 'lady-like' dresses, having my hair fixed up nicely,   
having to put on make-up. Alfred was just as bad. He forbade me from   
running about in the woods like I used to, and made me learn to   
embroider and sing like a lady, and all that other boring stuff. Any   
hope I'd had of avoiding Kollis's attention was shattered."  
  
"It wasn't all bad, though. Alfred knew how much my mother   
disliked royalty, so he did his best to protect me from Kollis. He   
wanted me to marry well, and to do that, I had to be a virgin..."   
Serena suddenly realised what she had said, and flushed bright red.   
It was hardly a topic to be discussing with a Prince! She stuttered   
some vague apology as she hid her face, blushing endlessly as she   
waited for some comment from the stoic man beside her, but he said   
nothing.   
  
Finally, she dared a glance in his direction, and found him   
unaffected by her embarrassment, rather he was simply nodding   
thoughtfully. Pushing back her discomfort, she continued, "Then when   
my mother died, everything changed. My step-father lost interest in   
me. He didn't care where I was any more, he stopped trying to find me   
a husband, he let Kollis do what he wanted. I think he only every   
cared for me because of my mother's insistence. And with her gone,   
there was no reason left...  
  
"Kollis knew something had changed. He knew he didn't have to   
run around Alfred any more, pretending to have honourable intentions.   
He dropped the pretences and just chased me instead." In a sudden   
burst of insight, Serena decided to leave out the details of what   
Kollis had done to her, how he had pursued her. Darien's anger at   
even the suggestion of such a thing had been enough to prove how he   
felt about it.  
  
"After... months of chasing me I knew I had to end it. If I   
stayed there he was going to win. I couldn't... I couldn't hold him   
off forever." Tears broke from her eyes once more. "So in the middle   
of the night, I just picked myself up and left. I wasn't going to   
take Josephine with me at first - I didn't want her getting into   
trouble, but she wouldn't let me go alone. I never told her how   
grateful I was for that...  
  
"We fled to the docks to get the first ship out of the country.   
It was only luck, really, that brought us back to Terranis. There   
were only two ships sailing that day, and we couldn't afford the fare   
for the other - it was going too far - so we had no choice really."  
  
"I didn't realise how good Kollis would be at tracing us. I   
don't think he cared who I was by that time. He just wanted to punish   
me for trying to disobey him. No one had ever dared before. He wanted   
to have me killed for humiliating him, for showing he couldn't even   
control a helpless woman...  
  
"When I came to the palace, that first day, I honestly didn't   
know if you would help me or not. It had been so long since anyone   
had cared for me. I didn't see why you would. I thought the whole   
world was evil, the more power you had, the worse you would be." She   
looked up at him, her eyes begging forgiveness. "I misjudged you   
horribly. Can you forgive me for that?"  
  
For the first time in many minutes, Darien spoke. "There's   
nothing to forgive. From what you've told me, you had more than   
enough reason to fear me, to hate me even."  
  
"But none of it was true," Serena blurted. "Even what my mother   
told me... it was all lies."   
  
Darien frowned. "Your mother told you... what did she tell   
you?"  
  
"I... she told me that you and Albert... I blamed you for us   
having to leave Terranis. You and Albert. But when I finally found   
out why mother hated you so much, I should have realised none of it   
was your fault. You were only a child, like me. It was just so easy   
to blame you for it with everything else that was going on."  
  
"Serena." Darien's voice was warm and soothing. "Would you do   
something for me?" She nodded. "Let's both put the past behind us,   
okay? Let's make this a new start. Like you've wanted so badly."  
  
Serena's smile could have lit a cathedral.  
  
"Serena!! Serena, you're safe! Oh Serena!"  
  
Serena looked up, and saw, at the end of the road, Josephine,   
waving frantically. Neither of them had noticed the house come into   
view down the road, but now Serena urged her horse forward, leaping   
out of the saddle and into Josephine's arms. "Oh thank the gods your   
safe," the old woman continued, holding the girl tight. "I was so   
worried. I thought you'd be gone for sure."  
  
"Now, Josephine," Darien interrupted from behind Serena. "You   
know I'd never let anything happen to her."  
  
"What about Kollis? He's not coming back, is he? Has he gone   
forever?"  
  
"It's over, Josephine," Serena told her confidently. "It's   
finished for good."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The palace was quiet for once. Darien's father was napping in   
the upstairs rooms, the Guard were off duty and relaxing about the   
palace or in the gardens, and Darien was shuffling papers over minor   
matters of State in his study. Peace and tranquillity drifted   
throughout the palace like mist in Spring.  
  
News of the cataclysmic battle with Kollis had spread rapidly   
throughout the world, and Albert had returned only days later,   
cutting short his visit to Delonica to rush home in fits of disbelief   
over Darien's supposed abilities. It had taken a further   
demonstration of his power to get the shocked King to believe him   
finally, and the news of Darien's sovereignty over Ardonia had been   
the icing on a very, very over-done cake.  
  
Violent arguments had ensued, Albert accusing Darien of   
snatching the throne from under him, while Darien had declared Albert   
to be an egotistical tyrant with no idea how the real world worked.  
  
Finally, though, as all storms do, this one had blown itself   
out, and life had returned to a semblance of normalcy.   
  
That was, however, until the reports from abroad had started   
coming in...  
  
Darien sighed as there was another knock at the study door. He   
had been interrupted five times already this morning, and had issued   
a warning that no one was to disturb him without a matter of National   
significance. Which meant this had to be important.  
  
"Come in."  
  
The door opened, and yet another messenger stood in the   
doorway, shuffling nervously from foot to foot. Even the most   
complacent of his servants seemed edgy since his little demonstration   
last week, almost as if they expected him to open a hole in the Earth   
to swallow them if they annoyed him too much. Darien saw a letter in   
the speechless man's hand, and gestured him forward, holding out his   
hand for it as it was hastily thrust at him.  
  
He imperturbably opened it, scanned the contents, and sighed.   
With a wave, he dismissed the nervous messenger, and let a frown   
slide over his features.   
  
"News from Illeico?"  
  
Darien snapped his head up, startled to find Malachite standing   
where the messenger had been moments before. "Sorry. I should have   
knocked," the guard apologised.  
  
Darien shook his head, gesturing to a seat as he re-read the   
letter. After a long moment, he dropped it into a pile of similar   
documents, and slumped back in his chair. "This is insane," he   
informed his guard, as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.  
  
"What is it this time?" Malachite asked, expecting only to have   
his suspicions confirmed.  
  
Darien picked up the letter again and read aloud, "The reigning   
monarch of Illeico, King Edward, would like to offer the sovereignty   
of his country and all rights thereof to return to its rightful heir   
and Prince of the Earth, Prince Darien of Terranis. I hope you will   
look kindly on this gesture and remember my honest and disciplined   
governing of this country when you come to redistribute wealth over   
this part of the world, etcetera." He threw the letter down again in   
disgust. "No rational man in the world would give up the rule of a   
country over night," Darien hissed, startling Malachite. "That's the   
fifth country to do it. It's ludicrous!"  
  
"You do have to admit," Malachite offered quietly, "that what   
happened with Kollis was unlike anything this world has witnessed.   
People are shocked, if not terrified by the power you displayed that   
day. Everyone who doesn't fear you is trying to worship you. You   
can't stop this, Darien. All you can do is give it a direction, take   
control of it."  
  
Darien sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just never   
expected anything like this to happen."  
  
Malachite laughed. "Who would have expected this! Don't worry,   
Darien. I don't think anyone knows quite how to react to this. Now if   
you'll excuse me, my shift starts in a little while." He rose, and   
turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, it opened, and King   
Albert stood there, looking both surprised and put out to find his   
son was not alone.   
  
Malachite bowed immediately. "Your Majesty. I was just   
leaving."  
  
Albert stood aside to let the Guard by, then closed the door,   
walking with slow, deliberate strides across the room to the window,   
while Darien watched him with veiled suspicion.  
  
"Well, Darien." He spoke finally. "It seems the world is   
turning to your favour."  
  
The young Prince regarded his father coolly. "Yes, it would   
seem that way," he answered carefully.  
  
King Albert nodded slowly. "You seem to be handling all this   
rather well. I'm impressed."  
  
"You don't have to sound so surprised about it," Darien bit   
back. "You taught me well." The admission was laced with irony, but   
Albert made no reaction to it.  
  
"I had a meeting with Count Marlow yesterday," he said   
smoothly, ignoring Darien's irritation. "You remember the Count,   
don't you?"  
  
Darien's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I do." And I remember his   
daughter, too. Janette was a spoilt brat. If he even mentions...  
  
"He has a daughter, as you no doubt know..." Albert continued.   
"She recently turned twenty one, and he is anxious that she should   
find a suitable husband. She is a highly educated young woman, she   
has grace and elegance and knows the finer things of life well."  
Albert turned to face his son, an air of satisfaction exuding from   
him. "She would make an ideal wife for you, Darien. She would make an   
ideal queen."  
  
"What kind of Queen would deliberately tread down the people   
she is supposed to protect?"  
  
Albert faltered. Never in his life, when he had argued with his   
son, had he heard this cool, calm, almost careless tone. He had   
expected an explosion of anger from the Prince. It had always   
occurred before when Albert tried to meddle in his life, and Albert   
was well equipped to win such an argument - he had several more cards   
up his sleave yet - but this calm disregard had caught him unaware.   
Not knowing what else to say, he asked, "What do you mean, she treads   
people down?"  
  
"She has no regard, no sympathy and no understanding of anyone   
but rich men and selfish women. The people of this country are   
farmers, simple people with simple needs. What could she know of how   
to govern such a people?"  
  
At this, Albert exploded. "So what would you do, Darien? Who   
would you chose who would understand your beloved peasantry? Next   
you'll be telling me you want to MARRY a peasant, you incompetent   
boy! You have more romantic garbage in you than all the women in   
Terranis! I don't care what I have to do," he growled at Darien, his   
voice suddenly threatening. "I will see you married by the end of the   
year. I'm sick to death of you flapping about waiting for love to   
come and strike you in the heart like some proverbial lightening.   
It's ridiculous mush and I expect better from you."  
  
"When you married my mother," Darien interrupted suddenly, and   
noted carefully how quickly Albert fell silent at the mention of the   
woman. "When you married her, you loved her." Albert's face had   
turned a deathly pale. "You loved her more than life itself. And when   
she died..."  
  
"You will not speak of your mother in those terms!" the King   
roared, but the effect was lost of Darien.  
  
"When she died," he continued, unfazed, "I think you died as   
well. I don't know whether you pretend love doesn't exist because you   
want to hide from the past or just because you want to protect me   
from the pain of losing someone. But now this is *my* life. And I   
will make that decision when I'm ready to."  
  
Albert was speechless. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he   
heard the recitation of his entire philosophy on life, reduced to its   
barest elements. He had not dared think of Isabelle in years, keeping   
her memory buried safely in the back of his mind where it could cause   
no hurt to anyone. And slowly, that memory, in all its glory and   
agony, came rushing forward.  
  
"You're right," he admitted painfully, as Darien gazed at him,   
the accusing glare slowly fading from his eyes. "Your, er... Your   
mother," he told his son, "would have been proud of you. I know I   
am." He nodded slow, almost to himself, then, with tears brimming in   
his eyes, he walked slowly from the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The markets were unusually busy for a Tuesday afternoon, but   
Darien was quick to realise, as he made his way through the crowd,   
that it was not shopping, but rather gossip that had brought the   
people out in droves. All around him he heard mutterings and   
exclamations, all centred either on him, or on his ill-fated battle   
with Kollis. He flinched at some of the comments he heard, agonised   
that his actions would be laid so bare to public discussion.  
  
As he continued down the row, he became aware that the gossip   
had died down somewhat, and looked around, astonished to find that a   
wave of silence surrounded him, every eye in the market suddenly   
fixed on him. He flushed, stared at the ground resolutely, and   
hurried on.  
  
Eliza couldn't help but see him coming as the crowd opened like   
a sea before him, and with few words, she ushered him inside her   
tent, closing the flap on the gawking crowd. The moment they were   
inside, the conversation surged up again, all of it focused on the   
embarrassed Prince.  
  
Darien smiled as Eliza moved to envelop him in a warm hug. "Oh   
my boy, you poor thing! I'm surprised you haven't gone stark raving   
mad by now!" Darien sighed with relief. Eliza was just about the only   
person not affected by his sudden publicity. Everyone else, even the   
Senshi and his own Guard, had been hesitant around him for a few   
days, unsure how to react to the sudden appearance of his mystical   
powers. In fact, he realised now, the only other person who hadn't   
flinched at his approach had been Serena...  
  
Eliza loosened her hold on him finally, leaning back to look up   
into his face. And what she saw caused her to smile. Gone was the boy   
who had caused havoc in the markets as a child, gone was the troubled   
adolescent whom she had comforted for years as he grew up, struggling   
to adjust to his role as monarch. Gone was the rash young man of only   
days ago, ill at ease with his place in the world. In his place stood   
a fully mature man, proud, wise, and, his eyes told her, at peace   
with himself. His jet black hair still hung roguishly in his eyes, an   
impression of the untamed lingering in his stormy gaze, but here was   
a man who now accepted his place in life, and whose connection with   
the Earth, Eliza knew, reflected a deep and compassionate   
understanding of the world.  
  
"Now my boy," she said, offering him a seat and a cup of tea.   
"What brings you to my humble abode today?"  
  
Darien looked at her sideways. "Curiosity," he replied.  
  
"Oh?" She looked surprised. "You mean there's a mystery in the   
world you haven't solved yet?"  
  
He laughed, a rich, deep laugh that rolled across the room.   
"Yes, there is, actually. There's something you haven't told me."  
  
Eliza smiled willingly. "And what would that be?"  
  
"Since I started coming to you for advice a few months ago,   
you've told me a great number of things," Darien explained,   
circumspectly. "You've told me about my mother's relationship with my   
father, you've told me about Serena's mother and why she left the   
palace, something you yourself claimed no one knew the real reason   
for... You told me of the power of the Senshi..."   
  
Eliza nodded. "It was important that you knew. I told you that   
at the time."  
  
Darien nodded, his expression strangely complacent. "The role   
of Senshi is passed from mother to daughter. It's been a carefully   
guarded secret for generations, so much so that not even *I* knew of   
it. So how is it that you came to know anything about it? It seems a   
little impossible, if you ask me."  
  
"Ah, I know many things that can't be explained, Darien," she   
replied quickly, getting up to fuss with her embroidery. "A lot of   
people say I'm something of a fortune teller..."  
  
"It would take more than fortune to predict everything you have   
done," Darien stated, getting up to follow her around the tent.  
  
"Well, it's something of an art, you know. I don't think..."  
  
"You know more about my love life than I do," Darien   
interrupted. "And I find that to be a little too much of a   
coincidence for my liking."  
  
Eliza turned around suddenly, and was startled to find the tall   
man standing directly behind her. "Don't do that Darien. You scared   
the wits out of me," she scolded, placing a hand on her heart.  
  
"Why don't we both sit down again," Darien suggested coolly,   
"and you tell me just where you get these insights from."  
  
The old woman scowled at him, and waved at the other seat and   
she huffed down into hers. "All right, all right," she muttered to   
herself, grumbling softly. "I'll tell you." She sighed.   
  
"As you know, the role of Senshi is handed from mother to   
daughter. Two generations ago, the grandmother of the current Senshi   
of Venus was born. Her name was Maya. Like all the generations before   
her, she was the Senshi of Love. When she was old enough to start   
training, it was always done in great secret, but despite all their   
efforts to keep it hidden, I was witness to many of her training   
sessions. She could burn a tree to the ground with a mere gesture. It   
was frightening.  
  
"The reason I know of her powers is that Maya was not an only   
child. I was her sister. I am a direct descendant of the bloodline of   
Venus." Eliza scowled as she gave up the information grudgingly.  
  
"As the second born of that generation, I was not to inherit   
the title of Venus, or any of the power that came with it. When I   
chose to marry, I fell in love with a young man much below my status   
in life, and my family condemned the match.   
  
"Maya knew that he and I were destined to be together, she had   
had enough training to realise that, but no amount of convincing in   
the world would persuade her to stand against my mother. I was cast   
out of the palace and have never returned since.  
  
"Being of the bloodline of Venus allows me to understand   
certain things in the relationship between a man and a woman." She   
gave Darien a disparaging look. "Does that answer all of your   
questions, then?"  
  
Darien opened his mouth to reply, but Eliza jumped in. "If it   
doesn't you'll have to stand not knowing, for you're not getting any   
more information out of me. Go on, get out of my tent! Shoo!" she   
bustled him away, but the humour in her eyes told him she wasn't the   
least bit upset.  
  
"Thank you, Eliza," he said, as he was hustled back into the   
street. "I appreciate it." He walked away.  
  
"You're welcome," she replied, when he was out of sight. "Crazy   
young fool..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Stumbling down the wide corridor on the second level of the   
Palace, Rei sighed as she came to the door to the wreckroom. She slid   
into the room, carelessly threw the door shut, and slumped down on   
the sofa. "Uhhh..."   
  
No one paid any attention to the low groan, as the other Senshi   
lay scattered about the room, all lost in their own exhaustion. Mina   
had collapsed into an easy chair, slumped down and dozing, Ami was   
sprawled across the opposite sofa and Lita lay on the floor before   
the fire, limbs flung carelessly across the rug.  
  
No one moved for a good while, until Mina suddenly broke the   
silence with, "Darien's not happy." Rei glanced up at the Senshi of   
Venus, and was surprised to find she had not moved, her eyes still   
closed as she seemed, to all appearances, to be asleep.  
  
"Huh?" Rei answered blankly. "Why do you say that?"  
  
Mina shrugged. "He's just not. I can tell."  
  
"That's very informative, Mina," Lita piped up from the rug.   
"Now could you tell us what's wrong with him?"  
  
"He's probably just recovering from all the fame and pressure   
of everyone in the world looking at him all of a sudden," Rei   
interjected. "Goodness knows I'm sick of it." She slumped further   
down on the sofa.  
  
"It is exhausting, isn't it?" Lita agreed, rolling over on the   
rug, and closing her eyes again.  
  
"No, it's not that," Mina informed them. "I think he misses   
Serena."  
  
"What?" Rei sat up, yawning. "But he hasn't mentioned her in   
days."  
  
Mina nodded. "But that doesn't mean he's not thinking of her. I   
can feel it. Just trust me on this one, guys."  
  
"So what do we do about it?"   
  
Mina smirked sleepily. "Get him together with Serena, of   
course. Just don't ask me how, that's all."  
  
Rei snapped to attention suddenly. "Okay, guys. Wake up. It's   
time for us to do some planning."   
  
"Later," Lita complained. "I'm so tired..."  
  
"No, now! Come on, it's our job to look after the Prince of the   
Earth, and that includes his mental well being."   
  
"Oh all right," Lita sighed, climbing to her feet to come and   
sit by Rei. "Ami, you too," Rei barked at the slumbering Senshi of   
Water. "Ami? Ami! Ami, wake up!"  
  
"What? Eh?" Ami's blue head popped up suddenly, and she looked   
around foggily. "Oh, all right. I'm here."  
  
"We need a way to get Serena to the palace. We can't just tell   
her to come see Darien, I don't think she'd be too happy about it."  
  
"And then once she's here, we have to get her and Darien   
together..."  
  
"When no one else is going to interrupt them..."  
  
"And then make sure they stay together for a while..."  
  
Rei smiled suddenly, to the surprise of the rest of the Senshi.   
"I think I know what to do..."  
  



	7. Only One Road

From Beyond the Window  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.   
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 7  
Only One Road  
  
  
Dressed in finery, Darien stood beside his father just beyond   
the doors to the great ballroom. With a faintly rueful twist of his   
mouth, he remembered the last time he had been standing here. It   
seemed so long ago, that insignificant night when he had been   
waiting to meet Lady Andrea. That wasn't something he liked to dwell   
on... but tonight, his duty here was far less unpleasant - and far   
more important - than that night had been.  
  
He glanced across at his father for the briefest of moments,   
but the old King saw the gesture, and turned to face his son. A weak   
smile from Darien, and an encouraging nod from Albert, and their   
eyes returned to the door. A fanfare began on the opposite side, and   
Darien straightened his cloak. This was it.  
  
Albert smiled with pride as his son, tall, proud and with not   
a trace of his previous discomfort, strode with easy steps down the   
wide staircase ahead of him. This was indeed a great day. A day   
when Darien would finally fulfil his duty as a Prince, as the Earth   
Monarch, and as Albert's son.  
  
Darien nodded courteously to the contingent of delegates from   
the nations of Earth as he passed them. He received a variety of   
responses, from a nervous smile from the old Queen of Chandos, to a   
great sweeping bow from the former King of Illeico.  
  
Reaching the bottom of the steps, he turned and strode to the   
throne at the far end, where a tall, grey-haired man was waiting. A   
red carpet was spread out before the throne, and as Darien reached   
the edge of it, the entire room fell silent. It was filled to the   
brim with nobles, from all ends of the Earth, and outside the door,   
peasants crowded next to each other to get a better view.  
  
The Royal Adviser stepped closer to Darien, and in a loud   
voice, commanded, "Kneel, Prince Darien." Darien lowered himself to   
one knee before the throne, eyeing it with both trepidation, and a   
sanctified peace. The already silent room settled further, so that one   
could have heard a fly landing on the wall.  
  
"Prince Darien. Prince of the Earth and heir to the Terran   
throne. As Chief of the Royal Advisers to your honourable father,   
King Albert of Terranis, and as an elected representative from the   
Nations of Earth, I stand before this people today to perform a most   
noble and sacred duty.   
  
"The heritage of the Earth has long been hidden in folklore,   
but in recent times, old myths and ancient legends have again been   
brought to life. And so it is today, that we gather here to bring to   
the reunified Earth throne, Darien, rightful heir, and proven Prince   
of the Earth."  
  
He reached to his right, and lifted the glittering crown from   
where it lay nestled on a crimson cushion.  
  
But before he placed the crown on Darien's head, he hesitated.   
"Prince Darien," he stated, looking with pride at the young man he   
had known since boyhood. "These are your people. Guard them well."  
Then he placed the golden crown on Darien's head.  
  
"Arise, King Darien. King of eleven Terran Nations, and heir   
to the throne of Terranis. We place upon you your rightful duty as   
King of the Earth."  
  
In slight awe, Darien rose to his feet. He had noted the   
Adviser's words carefully, and honestly, he was not surprised that   
Albert had chosen to retain the Terranisian throne for now. It was   
Albert's to keep or pass on as he chose, not Darien's to demand, or   
take. Besides, that would come all in good time. He was in no hurry.  
  
The velvet cape that hung from his shoulders flared briefly as   
he stepped up to the throne, and as he turned, he almost shuddered   
at the immovable gaze of thousands of eyes. So many people. So many   
lives. They were his to protect, to care for, and to rule.  
  
Then he seated himself on the throne. But it was not the   
rustle of a thousand knees bending that captured Darien's attention   
for that briefest of moments. It was the feel of the Earth beneath   
him. The Earth actually trembling with joy as he took his place as   
King.   
  
The Earth had welcomed him home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Mayers were visiting relatives this afternoon, leaving only   
a handful of servants, including Serena and Josephine, to care for   
the house. Visitors were scarce at the best of times, so it was   
completely unexpected when a knock was heard at the front door.  
  
Tidying the kitchen from lunch, Josephine looked up at Serena   
in surprise. "You're not expecting anyone, are you?"  
  
Serena shook her head, and, wiping her hands on a rag,   
Josephine went to open the door. Moments later she was back. "It's   
for you," she told the astonished girl, and Serena hurried to the   
door. Her eyes open wide at the sight of the Senshi of Mars standing   
on the front step.  
  
"M'Lady!" she cried, curtsying deeply. "It's an honour to have   
you here. What can I do for you?" Serena's heart was racing. Somehow   
the raven-haired Senshi seemed more intimidating than the last time   
they had met.  
  
But Rei just smiled. "Please, Serena, the formalities are not   
necessary. We met on amiable terms last time. I would like to keep   
things that way." Serena allowed herself to relax a little, and Rei   
continued, "Actually, I've come to ask a favour. The last time I was   
here you promised you'd come to the palace and let me see your   
fencing skills. I'd like you to fulfil that visit, soon if it's   
convenient."  
  
There was a pause. Then the words suddenly registered in   
Serena's mind, and she stuttered a garbled mess until she managed to   
wrap her mouth around a few words. "But why? I... I can hardly be of   
interest to the Senshi now! I mean, after last week, I... I couldn't   
fight *you*!"  
  
Rei bit her lip. She had expected this to be a problem.   
"Serena, I'm only asking you to fence with me, I'm not going to   
summon fireballs to defeat you." It was said with amusement. "And you   
are every bit as interesting now as you were the last time we spoke.   
Your skills are extraordinary. I'd be most disappointed if you didn't   
come." This last phrase was said with haughty disapproval - it was   
manipulative, as it was intended to be, and Serena felt a sudden   
pressure to submit to the Senshi's obvious authority.  
  
"All right," she heard herself agree. "When should I come?"  
  
"Tomorrow afternoon," was the instant reply, leaving Serena   
feeling like she had just walked into a wolves' den. "Around two   
o'clock." Rei smiled, a hint of satisfaction in her stance as she   
flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, and prepared to mount   
her horse. "I'll see you there, Serena."  
  
As she guided her horse down the road, she turned back to wave,   
and saw Josephine standing behind Serena in the yard. The old woman's   
expression conveyed the slightest of questioning frowns, a hint of a   
raised eyebrow, to which Rei responded with the smallest of nods.   
Josephine, it seemed, was holding back a laugh.  
  
Ah yes Rei thought as she rode smugly away. The bait was   
fresh, the trap was set and the old woman would ensure an impeccable   
execution...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena blushed furiously as the huge gates of the Palace swung   
open before her. On either side of the entrance, the guards bowed   
deeply, making Serena feel entirely foolish for receiving such   
attention. They must know she was merely a peasant girl - her   
clothing was simple and her horse carried no insignia on it's tack -   
it seemed so strange for them to be offering her this respect.  
  
"Miss Serena," the guard on her left suddenly spoke up. "Lady   
Rei informed us that she was expecting you, and ordered that you be   
admitted immediately. You will be met in the vestibule, if you would   
like to continue." Unable to find her voice through her   
embarrassment, Serena merely nodded, and hurried her horse through   
the gates.  
  
"Ma'am," the guard tipped his hat to Josephine as she rode   
through the gate behind the blushing girl, but unlike Serena,   
Josephine nodded back, and sat a little straighter on her horse. It   
wasn't every day she was greeted like nobility, and she was going to   
make the most of it.  
  
At the door of the palace they were met by further servants,   
who cordially took their horses, reminding the women that when they   
were ready to leave, they need only ask and the horses would be   
instantly prepared for their departure. Then the heavy wooden doors   
were opened for them, and they were escorted into the entrance hall,   
Serena still blushing furiously, Josephine merely accepting all the   
fuss with amused sufferance.  
  
On her last visit, Serena had been in no mood to stop and   
admire her surroundings, but now she found herself fascinated by the   
prospect of what Darien's home would look like. She knew how she   
expected an entrance hall to appear, even one serving a palace. It   
should be relatively simple, perhaps a few pictures on the walls,   
carved corner pieces, as suited the aristocratic style, and with a   
few chairs to seat waiting guests.  
  
She looked around the brightly lit hallway expectantly, and   
what she saw fairly floored her.  
  
Elaborate carvings adorned every inch of the gleaming wooden   
wall panels. A glass chandelier hung from the high ceiling, and as   
she looked up, Serena could see the ornate plaster trim sweeping   
across the ceiling. Silk tapestries were hung on the walls, delicate   
vases and sculptures were perched in each corner, and arranged in a   
comfortable setting were five plush lounges, lined with velvet. She   
didn't dare move. She scarcely dared to breath for fear of damaging   
any of this splendour.  
  
"Serena! I'm so glad you could come." Rei strode swiftly into   
the large hall, comfortably indifferent to the wealth strewn about   
her. Even if fighting garb, she looked stunning. Her cream shirt was   
made of silk, her maroon pants were soft and new, not a smudge on   
them, and her black boots were polished to an intense gleam. Serena   
felt suddenly self-conscious in her own simple clothing. Her pale   
pants were streaked with faint stains and her once navy shirt had   
faded to a light blue.  
  
"I've arranged for us to have the sparring ring this afternoon.   
No one should bother us there. The training swords are being cleaned   
at the moment but they should be ready any minute..."   
  
Serena merely nodded as Rei chatted on, trying to look   
everything at once as she was escorted down the hall to the back of   
the palace. Then she suddenly realised she was staring, and hastily   
fixed her eyes on the floor. What was Josephine thinking of all this,   
she wondered idly, but when she turned to look for her nurse, the   
woman was no longer behind her. Strange. She couldn't have just   
disappeared...  
  
"You'll stay for dinner, of course, won't you?" Serena looked   
up just in time to catch that last sentence, and opened her mouth to   
protest, but Rei had barely stopped to take a breath. "We normally   
eat around 7:30, so that'll give us both time to wash up after   
training..."  
  
At a complete loss by now, Serena could only mumble a reply as   
she was whisked further down the hallway.  
  
"Rei! Oh, I'm so glad I've found you!" The blue haired Senshi,   
Ami, if Serena remembered right, had appeared in the hallway quite   
suddenly, sweeping round a corner and almost running straight into   
them. "We need your help right away! An urgent matter has come up,   
and Mina and Lita are just at each other's throats over it. Can you   
come?"  
  
Rei, looking slightly startled, glanced between Serena and the   
agitated Senshi. "Well, I'm really in the middle of something right   
now..."  
  
"We are not at each other's throats!" An indignant Mina came   
flying round the corner. "Rei, would you come and tell Lita it's   
completely impossible, the King would never allow such a thing..."  
  
"All right, all right!" Rei shouted impatiently. "I'll come.   
I'm terribly sorry, Serena," she apologised. "I'll be as quick as I   
can. Things are absolutely crazy around here most of the time." She   
turned to follow the two Senshi up the stairs, then, as an after   
thought, turned back and added, "While you wait, why don't you go and   
sit down in the study." She pointed to the door just across the hall.   
"Prince Darien's in there at the moment, I'm sure he can keep you   
company for a while." Rei had said Darien's title without thinking.   
Around the palace, he was still considered as a prince, rather than   
a king. He himself had requested to be addressed as such, to avoid   
the inevitably sensitive issue with his father. As far as Darien was   
concerned, Albert was still the King, and so that naturally placed   
Darien in the role of Prince. "I really am sorry," Mars apologised   
again.  
  
She turned to leave again, but Serena's strangled cry made her   
look back in alarm. "I can't see him now!" Serena cried in alarm.   
"I... I'm dressed in working clothes," she stammered helplessly,   
gesturing to her rather humble attire. "I can't let him see me like   
this!"  
  
Rei waved a careless hand at her. "Oh I wouldn't worry about   
that. He's not at all dressed up himself, just some old comfortable   
scraps. I'm sure he won't notice the difference." With that, she was   
gone.  
  
Serena stood a moment in indecision, eyeing the door like it   
was about to bite her. Glancing back up the deserted stairway, she   
decided she had little choice, and raised a shaking hand to knock   
gently on the seasoned wood. A deep reply answered her, and she   
gingerly opened the door...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"All right! Gimme five!" Mina cried, as the door shut behind   
the nervous girl. Rei slapped her hand, and then did the same to Ami   
as they crowded back up the narrow staircase. Lita, who had been   
waiting at the top, immediately asked, "I take it all went according   
to plan?"   
  
"A *perfect* execution, if I do say so myself," Rei preened   
herself lightly, causing gagging from Mina.  
  
"Oh come on, it was my *supreme* acting that did it."  
  
"It was not! I set up the whole thing in the first place."  
  
"But you couldn't have pulled it off without us!"  
  
"Well I hardly saw *you* coming up with any great ideas!"  
  
"Oh come on guys," Ami interrupted them finally. "It worked,   
didn't it? That's all that matters."  
  
Linking arms in agreement, the four Senshi grinned madly, and   
ran off down the hallway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Come in," Darien called, as he heard a knock at the door.   
Scarcely half an hour went by lately without someone interrupting   
him. Not, he admitted to himself, that he was doing anything terribly   
important right now. But it would be nice to have a little peace and   
quie...  
  
"Serena!"  
  
The girl froze in the doorway, astonished to see the prince   
lazing carelessly in an easy chair, his legs thrown over the arm rest.   
He was on his feet in a flash.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," she tried to   
apologise, but he brushed it aside.   
  
"Come in, come in. Please, sit down," he gestured to the chair   
opposite his. She obeyed, and he resumed his own seat. Stomping back   
the obvious "What are you doing here?" knowing such a direct question   
would only make her nervous, he instead commented, "I didn't realise   
you were coming to the palace today."  
  
Serena flushed lightly. "Lady Rei asked me to come and spar   
with her. She was called away on... sudden business." Darien nodded,   
a not quite definable expression passing across his handsome face,   
and Serena took advantage of the pause to notice that he was not, in   
fact, dressed in anything she would have called casual. His black   
pants and deep blue shirt were, like Rei's attire, flawless. The   
shirt was unquestionably satin, and despite the years of torment that   
had led to Serena's hostility to wealth, she felt a twinge of regret   
that she could never own anything so elegant, or so expensive.  
  
Darien was at a loss for words. Though he had longed to see   
this woman for weeks, her nervousness was making him ill at ease, and   
he search vigorously for a way to break the tension between them.  
  
Then a sudden smile graced his lips. "Serena?" She looked up,   
unable to keep the smile from her lips at his warm tone. "Come   
outside. I'd like to show you the gardens. They're beautiful this   
time of year."  
  
Complacently, she rose, following him out of the room, and down   
a narrow flight of stairs to the side door. And then she could barely   
hide her astonishment at being instantly transported into a coloured   
wonderment of sight and scent. A gravel path meandered away through   
the low bushes, every different flower she could have imagined   
sprouting from leafy buds that ranged from light silver to a deep   
forest green.  
  
Being out of the warm confines of the palace, Serena relaxed   
instantly. It had reminded her too much of her days trapped in   
fluffed dresses and bland company, and the suggestion of going   
outside had been accepted enthusiastically. Her eyes were wide as a   
myriad of emotions crossed her face, starting with surprise, turning   
to deep appreciation, and ending finally in joy as she gazed across   
the sea of colour.  
  
"It's quite spectacular, isn't it?" Darien had watched the play   
of emotions across her face, had been enchanted by the open happiness   
there, and his own deep enjoyment of the gardens was again brought   
into life.  
  
Serena regarded him with cool suspicion, which melted to warm   
admiration in moments. This was the first time she had heard anyone   
in the palace comment on the sprawling beauty around her, and she had   
been uncertain whether Darien's comment was genuine, or whether it   
was meant merely to appease her. But the expression of peace and   
contentment on his face was undeniable, and she again reminded   
herself that Darien was no ordinary Prince. He was, as her childhood   
friend had been, a deeply sensitive and insightful man, and she   
allowed herself to relax into the gentle curve of his arm as he led   
her around the flower beds.   
  
He would occasionally point out a favourite bush, or unusual   
flower, eagerly naming any plant Serena didn't know, and even   
identifying the butterflies that fluttered from bloom to bloom.   
Finally, they reached a secluded corner of the gardens, where Darien   
led her through a narrow trellis to a sheltered corner.  
  
"This is the rose garden," he said simply.  
  
"It's beautiful." Serena indulged herself by bending to smell   
one of the crimson blooms, closing her eyes in delight as the scent   
wafted towards her.  
  
"It's my favourite place. It's always so peaceful here." A   
robin flitted down to land on the garden wall, and they both broke   
into a smile as it hopped obliviously around their feet.  
  
Suddenly, Serena tensed, and Darien fought back dismay. They   
had been getting along so well...  
  
"Oh dear! I'd forgotten all about Rei! She must be looking for   
me by now. I should get back," she said apologetically. But to her   
surprise, Darien shook his head. "If I know the Senshi, they'll be   
off for hours. Nothing is ever simple with them." He smiled. "Come.   
I've got more to show you."  
  
"Serena, tell me something," Darien said a while later. "I know   
this may be a very forward question," he continued, as they skirted a   
display of tulips, "but, once you had arrived in Terranis, why did   
you chose to stay here? It's an easy route to travel to Chandos from   
here, only a few days journey. And, knowing how you felt about...   
well, about me, I don't understand why you stayed."  
  
The slight girl before him shrugged, a tinge of pink staining   
her cheeks. "Because of what I told you the other day, after the   
battle. One of the reasons I hated Ardonia was because I had had to   
leave Terranis. This was the only place I could ever remember being   
happy. Playing with children who liked me, being outside in the sun,   
being free... Everything good in my life had come from Terranis. And   
that first day in the palace, I was sure you were going to hate me   
for causing so much trouble.  
  
"I was so scared that if you hated me, you'd make me leave   
again, but I didn't know how to make you like me. I kept messing   
things up, being rude to you, doing things wrong... but you were   
always so forgiving. I..." she laughed sheepishly. "I couldn't   
believe it when you were so nice to me. I kept telling myself it was   
some kind of trick."  
  
She looked up at the high walls of the palace suddenly, her   
eyes narrowed as if the proud turrets weren't really there. "This   
reminds me," she murmured slowly, "of a day when we were children. It   
was one of the happiest days of my life. It was just you and me, that   
day, and there was a field we were playing in, all covered in   
flowers, and the palace was... just behind us..." A shy smile crept   
up her lips as she turned to look at him. "There was a creek at the   
bottom of the field, and at the top there was a lawn and a little   
tree in the corner that we used to dance around. And if I remember   
right," she said slyly, a mischievous grin on her face, "you used to   
push me in the creek, and then I'd throw mud at you, and both our   
mothers would shout at us and tell us at this rate we'd never grow up   
to do anything useful with our lives."  
  
Darien chuckled at this, his usually stern features suddenly   
lighting up with amusement. "Well, that's not *quite* how I remember   
it," he muttered. "I always thought it was you who threw mud at me   
first, and *then* I'd push you in the creek."  
  
Serena laughed. "I'm absolutely certain you're wrong," she told   
him seriously.  
  
Darien grinned again, but as he gazed out across the beds of   
bright flowers, the grin faded. "Was that really the happiest time of   
your life?" he asked sincerely.  
  
Serena sighed wistfully "Yes. It was."  
  
Gently, Darien reached out and took her hand. "Come with me,"   
he ordered softly. "I want to show you something."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Josephine sat in the kitchen idly stirring a cup of tea. It had   
taken her quite by surprise when Malachite had appeared earlier, just   
after she and Serena had come into the Palace, and had dragged her   
hastily away from her charge. Rei's last visit to their house,   
though, had aroused her suspicions of the young woman's motives, and   
she was not at all surprised that she was being dragged into some   
underhanded matchmaking. Malachite had explained Rei's plans, scant   
though they were, and Josephine was now more than happy to be held   
'out of the way' somewhere for a few hours. And some friendly   
conversation with the servants in the kitchen would do just nicely.  
  
"I say there, Josephine?" Josephine looked up at the small   
woman in front of her. She was about forty years old, though her hair   
was already turning grey, and had the type of smile that was   
contagious.   
  
Josephine pursed her lips together. "Yes, dear?"  
  
"M'name's Sasha. I'm the housekeeper for the Guard, and I was   
just going to run up to the boy's common-room to give it a bit of a   
brush-up. There's a lovely view from the second floor windows. I was   
wondering if you'd like to join me?"  
  
Josephine nodded slowly. "That'd be lovely, Sasha. Lead the   
way."  
  
"Now you put that down!" Sasha barked a few minutes later.   
Josephine looked up, frozen with a duster in her hand. Sasha came   
marching over to her in mock annoyance, waving a cloth in her face.   
"Don't go thinking I brought you up here to work, now missy. Be you   
peasant or princess, you're still a guest in this house, and I'll   
have you treated like one." She grinned widely. "Please, Josephine,   
sit down. I'd have my ears chewed off if I let you do any work in   
here."  
  
Josephine frowned, though she did sit down again. "It just   
looked like you could use the help, that's all." Sasha's 'brush-up'   
was turning into a full-scale refurbishment. Apparently, Malachite   
and Darien used this room most often, as a wreck-room rather than the   
study it was designed as, and everything from dirty socks to greasy   
swords lay scattered across the floor. Sasha picked up the latter,   
wiping the hilt on her rag.   
  
"My gosh, this is Nephrite's! I tell you, Josie, some boys just   
never learn to grow up! I'll be picking up their things till they're   
fifty!"  
  
Josephine sighed. "Please, Sasha, I feel such a burden just   
sitting here watching you work. There must be something I can do."  
  
Sasha smiled warmly. "Indeed there is. The worst thing about   
cleaning this room is it gets so lonely after a while. So we can have   
a nice chat today, keep me company while I get this place   
straightened up. It doesn't take me near so long as you would   
expect."  
  
"Alright. But I expect a descent conversation, now," Josephine   
told her seriously, and the small woman burst into chuckles.   
  
"You've got yourself a deal."  
  
"Tell me about palace life," Josephine began. "I've often   
wondered what noble living would be like. Is it as bad as they say?"  
  
"Oh no, no, no." Sasha shook her head vigorously. "It's hard   
work and all, people hardly minding where they put any old mess, but   
we get one day off every week, and any problems are always sorted out   
quick sharp. Besides which," she added, "we get as good a food here   
as any nobility! I think the effort is quite worth the reward! Thing   
about it is, though, it's a solitary job. This place is so big, and   
there aren't so many servants as you'd expect. I can go two or three   
hours without seeing anyone. It's worse now my son's gone away. I   
liked to have a chat with him in the evenings before, but now it's   
just my husband and me, and he's not much good at conversation."  
  
"Your son... went away? Where? Was he in trouble?"  
  
Sasha looked up sharply. "In trouble? Oh goodness, no," she   
exclaimed, cracking yet another grin. "He was sent to one of the   
southern cities to get a proper education."  
  
"Ed... educated? Are all children here educated?" Josephine was   
quite stunned. Learning to read was a privilege reserved only for the   
children of nobility, or the few people rich enough to afford a   
governess.  
  
"No, no. Nathan - my son - was always a little nosy boy,   
sticking his fingers into everything he saw. Asked far too many   
questions, he did. Anyway, one day I was in the kitchen and Prince   
Darien comes along and says 'He's a bright spark, that boy is,' an' I   
said 'Really' and next thing I know, he's having tutoring with the   
noble children. I was so proud, I was! What about you," she   
interrupted herself swiftly. "Do you have any little ones?"  
  
"No, just Serena," Josephine answered quickly. "She's my lot in   
this life." Sasha nodded, and returned to her work, but Josephine   
lingered on that thought for a moment. It wasn't entirely true, about   
Serena. She thought briefly of her son, lost to her in her youth due   
to Kollis's father's cruelty... but quickly banished the thought from   
her mind. Serena was her lot now. She was all that mattered.  
  
But somehow, that wasn't quite enough. But Josephine couldn't deny   
the reason for her emptiness. Serena was her life, and so Serena's   
happiness meant everything in the world. And since she had known the   
girl, from her awkward, coltish youth up into the beauty of maturity,   
Serena had never been truly happy. Her lingering thoughts of Terranis,   
when she had lived in Ardonia, and of her mother, when they had   
returned to Terranis, seemed to cloud out all room for happiness. In   
all, her constant depression and fears meant that Josephine had not   
smiled once in the past fifteen years. And despite her hopes for Serena   
now that Darien was back on the scene, she was fast reaching the   
conclusion that she never would. Those two just seemed to have so many   
problems...  
  
Thus lost in thought, Josephine stared musily out the window.   
Below her, a wide lawn spread out to both sides, a Jacaranda tree   
growing tall in the corner, and just down the slope, a field was   
blooming with wildflowers, scenting the air warmly as it drifted in   
the partially open window. Around to the left, a glimpse of the   
gardens could be seen, the rich blooms of roses peeking out from   
behind a trellis. Sasha was right Josephine thought. It is a   
beautiful view.  
  
Then, as she watched, two figures came walking hand in hand   
around the corner. Josephine sat up straight. Wasn't that Darien and   
Serena?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena followed the Prince blindly, with no idea where he was   
going. Dimly she noted that they had come round to the back of the   
palace, but it was not until Darien stopped that she bothered to look   
around her.  
  
And her jaw dropped.  
  
As if they had walked through a gate in time itself, she found   
herself staring at the garden of her memory - the lawn before her,   
the gentle slope to the field, and the Jacaranda tree, now grown tall   
and wide since the last time she had seen it, and most of all, the   
scent of wild flowers mingling with the roses they had just left   
behind.   
  
A four year old girl ran through the lake of yellow flowers,   
tripping over her frock as a dark haired boy ran to catch her.   
Giggling, she gave up on the billowing skirt, stripping it off and   
running just in her bloomers. Both boy and girl ran off again, the   
skirt lying forgotten in the sea of yellow. . .  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she was helpless to stop them as   
they flooded down her cheeks.   
  
"Darien, I..." Realising his hand was still in hers, she   
squeezed it tight, unable to find any other way to express what she   
was feeling. She wiped furiously at the tears spilling down her   
cheeks, but more followed them, and she gave up. Darien pulled her   
close, and she willingly leaned into his arms, burying her tears   
against his chest.   
  
It felt so right to him suddenly, this girl in his arms and the   
wind bringing the scent of her hair to his nostrils, the sun gleaming   
on the cool stone walls behind them.  
  
"Yes," Serena whispered, though he never heard her words. "This   
is it. This is home."   
  
~~It made for a strange picture, the King of the Earth, dressed in   
fine, dark clothing, tall, proud and strong, with his arms wrapped so   
gently around a peasant woman, dressed in faded clothes, yet looking   
for all the world like a princess, her blond hair glistening in the   
sunlight. Josephine could not help but frown at it as she gazed   
uneasily out the window; her breath came as a gasp suddenly, as her   
heart quickened.~~  
  
Serena sighed against his warm clothing, forgetting where his   
scent stopped and that of the flowers began. Musily, she turned from   
his body, her eyes wandering over the view as his arms remained   
wrapped around her waist.  
  
"I wish I could stay here forever," she sighed, her head   
falling back against his shoulder. "Just here in this field, for the   
rest of my life. This is so perfect..."  
  
Beyond the line of her vision, Darien's eyes glittered brightly   
all of a sudden. Forever? I wish... Could it...?   
  
"Serena?"  
  
She twisted in his arms, looking up at him with those huge,   
innocent eyes that glistened with happiness. The way they always   
should...  
  
He smiled down at her. "How would you feel...if you *could*   
stay here forever?"  
  
Serena frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I've thought of the palace as your home for... months now.   
Ever since I realised who you were. I always hoped you would come   
back here one day. It almost broke my heart to have you living so   
close by... but you were always wishing you were so far away from   
me." He reached out to stroke her hair, some unnamable expression   
flitting across his eyes that none the less caused Serena's stomach   
to dance and her heart to speed up.  
  
"Serena, you have changed my life in so many ways. I've never   
known anyone like you. You live straight from your heart, and I... I   
can't help but love you for that. You are... the only woman in the   
world I've ever loved."  
  
... he will rule the Earth, and she will chide the moon, and so it   
will be, for ten thousand years... two children... in the sun.  
  
"Serena," he asked softly. "Will you marry me?"  
  
Serena stared at him in shock. Hope and confusion battled in   
her heart. Doubt flickered there as well, its black cloud covering   
her joy. But one voice, like a shaft of sunlight, cried out above the   
rest - she loved this man. Though it had taken her far too long to   
recognise it, she realised that was what her heart had been telling   
her all along. ...that we'll be friends forever more... *forever*   
more... I wish... it could be... forever... The clarity of that one   
thought brought tears to her eyes, while Darien watched in mute   
despair. He watched as she brought a hand to her mouth, speechless as   
the flood of tears flowed unchecked, scattering on the grass below.  
  
Silently, he gathered her into his arms, cradling her head   
against his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, his face beside   
her ear. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Forgive me,   
Serena. Please, forgive me?"  
  
. . . he will rule the Earth . . .   
  
Having gathered her thoughts in that brief time, Serena was now   
able to answer. "Yes."  
  
. . . and she will chide the moon . . .   
  
The word, though he heard it, was muffled in his chest. He   
gently lifted her chin to look into her eyes.  
  
. . . and destiny looks the other way, and laughs . . .   
  
"Yes, I will marry you."  
  
. . . two children . . .   
  
As he realised what she had said - which question she had   
answered -the pain left his face, to be replaced with joy.  
  
. . . in the sun . . .   
  
"Yes?"  
  
She nodded emphatically. "Yes, Darien. I love you."  
  
Her arms were around his neck, though he had no idea how they   
had come to be there. He gazed at her in wonder and disbelief - but   
there was no denying the joy in her eyes that echoed his own, despite   
the tears that still fell. His arms tightened around her, holding her   
like some fragile prize that might shatter if he looked away. He   
reached one gentle hand to stroke her cheek, and sooth the burning   
path of tears that ran there.   
  
She gulped at his touched, and smiled, pulling him into a tight   
embrace which he willingly returned. "Serena," he whispered, his eyes   
tightly closed. "My only love..."  
  
Serena laid her cheek against his chest, his warm heartbeat   
scarcely inches from her touch. He drew back slightly to look at her,   
a hand running through her silky hair.   
  
In his gentle exploration, his fingers found her jaw and held   
her still for a moment, while with a leaping heart, he bent closer to   
her, and with the intoxicating scent of her skin enveloping him,   
their lips met, and he kissed her with the passion of love much   
denied.  
  
In a rush of thunder-like longing, Serena trembled as she   
kissed the King of the Earth, his hot mouth and seeking tongue   
making her insides swirl. The searing heat and pounding of her heart   
filled her, sweeping her away in a flood of repressed emotion. She   
clung to him more tightly, wanting, wishing, that she would never   
have to let him go.  
  
Wrapped in her arms, Darien shuddered powerfully. This woman   
alone, in all the world, could complete him; could offer him the   
strength and complexity he so longed for in a wife - she was a   
paradox that would keep him enchanted for millennia to come.  
  
Leaving her flushed lips for a moment, Darien traced the line   
of her jaw with his mouth, breathing his warm breath across her neck   
before his lips followed on downwards, tasting her silken skin.  
  
Tingling shocks raced through Serena's body as she tilted her   
head back, allowing him to delve more deeply below her throat, her   
arms wrapped strongly around his neck as she melted into his embrace.   
  
Above her, the sky glowed brilliantly, and lower down, she   
could see the turrets of the proud castle, the lonesome flag flapping   
in the breeze.   
  
And in the corner of her eye, she caught the errant detail of a   
high set window, it's cross hatched metal glinting in the sun as a   
cool breeze blew across the empty field. A common-place window, by   
any standards, yet she felt there was something special about it,   
something worthy of attention... until Darien's arms tightened   
around her again, and her lips once more sought his hot caresses and   
his burning love.  
  
And high above them, the window stood, oblivious to the world   
it occupied.  
  
And from beyond the window, that aging, ever vigilant nurse,   
Josephine, sat watching them.  
  
And she smiled.  
  
The End.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
It should be noted that the window, the lawn, the field and indeed   
the building that Darien's Palace are based on are all real. The   
building does exist, and it was my explorations of this building that   
originally inspired this story. I will not name the building or its   
whereabouts.   
(If a disclaimer is necessary, I do not own the building either. hehe)  
  



End file.
